Fugitive murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison captured in Missouri after a week-long search

How the escape and capture unfolded

US authorities have captured a murderer serving a life sentence who escaped from a Tennessee state prison more than a week ago. Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving time for killing a co-worker in 2022 when, on 25 October at around 23:30, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction, he climbed over the fence of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville — roughly 145 km north of Memphis — while in prison uniform and stole a car from a nearby farm. Surveillance camera footage recorded the escape.

The search operation

On Wednesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Morley had been taken into custody during an operation involving local, state and federal agencies. According to the agency, a tip came in that the fugitive was hiding at a property in Illinois, from where a truck had also been stolen. Its license plate was tracked using automatic license plate recognition technology; the truck was moving through Missouri, and local officers were dispatched there. Morley was apprehended by the Missouri State Highway Patrol 'without incident' in Carroll County at 11:34 local time on Tuesday. Three firearms previously reported stolen were found in the vehicle. Also taking part in the search were the Kansas City police, the Independence police, the FBI, the US Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations.

The reward and details of the case

After the escape, Morley was added to the TBI's most wanted list, and the prison agency offered up to $2,500 for information on his whereabouts; on Wednesday the reward was increased by $15,000. The TBI noted that residents had provided information during the investigation, but did not specify whether the reward was paid. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of his co-worker Cody Birchfield; the sentence was handed down in June 2025, and a motion for a new trial was denied in May. According to Carter County court records reviewed by the BBC, Birchfield's body was found in a metal box under Morley's house; according to the autopsy report, death was caused by a gunshot wound to the back of the head, and shell casings matched a weapon found in his home. In addition to murder, Morley was convicted of vandalism, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary and evading arrest; his 2022 arrest also followed a chase that crossed the state line into North Carolina.

What is known about the prison itself

According to the BBC's partner CBS, the Northwest Correctional Complex is a men's prison with a capacity of up to 1,776 inmates, with security levels ranging from minimum to maximum. CBS reported that numerous acts of violence had occurred there in recent years, and in July a grand jury issued dozens of indictments in cases involving assaults on staff and the killings of five inmates. The editors note: this information relates to the institution as a whole and is not directly connected to the circumstances of Morley's escape, which were not detailed in the reports.

Image source, Missouri State Highway Patrol

Image source, Tennessee Department of Correction