Escaped Inmate Convicted Of Co-Worker's Murder Is Recaptured, Officials Say

JOSH KELETY, Associated Press

A man convicted of murder who escaped from a Tennessee prison was recaptured on Tuesday after more than a week on the run, authorities said.

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Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was apprehended in Missouri.

Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee's far northwestern corner on Oct. 25, after he slipped through a fence in his prison clothes. Surveillance video showed him stealing a truck from a farm about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away. The truck was found abandoned last week in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison and roughly 90 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The Tennessee Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Morley was serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield's body was found in a box under Morley's home after he had been missing for a few weeks. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.

When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.

After his escape, law enforcement agencies searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is in Tiptonville, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River. Prison officials offered a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Morley's arrest.

Morley's escape is the latest blemish for Tennessee's prison system.

Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts.

Following the failed execution of Christa Pike in September, Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned after less than three years on the job.

State Sen. Tom Hatcher said the resignation couldn't come soon enough.

"We need new leadership," the Republican from Blount County said. "We're doing oversight work behind the scenes about several of our prisons. We're just waiting to see who our next governor will be and who is the next commissioner."

Related: Fugitive Murderer Last Seen In Marion 'Could Be Anywhere,' Authorities Say