Escaped Tennessee Killer Captured After Week-Long Manhunt

A convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison has been recaptured after more than a week on the run. Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for killing his colleague, Cody Birchfield, in 2022 when he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on October 25. Prison security footage reportedly showed him breaching the facility’s fence around 11:30 p.m. before stealing a vehicle from a nearby farm.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced on Wednesday that Morley had been arrested in Missouri following a coordinated operation involving local, state and federal authorities. Investigators received information suggesting he was hiding on a property in Illinois, where another truck had reportedly been stolen. Authorities tracked the vehicle using automatic number plate recognition technology, with its movements leading officers through Missouri before the suspect was located.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol apprehended Morley without incident in Carroll County at approximately 11:34 a.m. on Tuesday. Three firearms previously reported stolen were also recovered from the vehicle, according to investigators. The search involved several agencies, including the FBI, US Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations and police departments in Kansas City and Independence. Authorities had earlier offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to his arrest, which was increased by $15,000 on Wednesday.

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Birchfield’s death and sentenced in June 2025. Court records stated that Birchfield’s body was discovered inside a metal box beneath Morley’s home, while a pathology report indicated that he died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Morley was also convicted of vandalism, evidence tampering, aggravated burglary and evading arrest. His request for a new trial was denied in May, months before his prison escape.