Escaped Tennessee inmate serving life for murder recaptured in Missouri

Jacob Morley, 28, who broke out of a Tennessee prison last month while serving a life term for murder, was arrested Tuesday in Missouri after more than a week on the loose, PBS NewsHour and several ABC stations reported.

ABC7 New York reported that the Missouri State Highway Patrol made the arrest in Carroll County, close to the town of Norborne, about an hour's drive east of Kansas City. PBS NewsHour, citing officials, put the time of the arrest at around midday and the location near Kansas City. According to the patrol, Morley offered no resistance.

The patrol said it was acting on a tip from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that Morley could be moving through Missouri, ABC7 reported. PBS NewsHour said troopers were told Tuesday morning that he might be driving west on Interstate 70. Both outlets reported that license plate cameras helped officers find the vehicle and that a Kansas City police helicopter kept watch from above. Undercover officers also trailed the vehicle along a state highway until it veered off the pavement and got stuck, PBS NewsHour reported.

In Illinois, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office answered a Tuesday morning call about a stolen vehicle southwest of Marion, according to ABC7. Investigators concluded that Morley had taken the white 2005 Ford pickup, which a farm had been using, the sheriff's office said. It attributed the capture to joint work by multiple agencies.

Morley got out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, in the far northwest of Tennessee, on Oct. 25. Prison staff realized he was missing at roughly 11:30 that night, and camera footage showed him passing through the outer fence still dressed in his inmate clothing, the Tennessee Department of Correction said, according to ABC7.

PBS NewsHour reported that video captured him stealing a truck from a farm close to the prison. Authorities later located that truck, left behind in Marion, roughly 120 miles to the north, the outlets reported. PBS NewsHour said prison officials had promised as much as $17,500 to anyone whose tip led to his capture.

A Carter County, Tennessee, jury convicted Morley of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, evidence tampering, vandalism and evading arrest. According to PBS NewsHour, the case centered on the 2022 death of his co-worker Cody Birchfield, whose remains were discovered in a box under Morley's house. Authorities said Morley ran from deputies and was caught after a pursuit that ended in North Carolina, the outlet reported.

PBS NewsHour also pointed to other recent troubles in Tennessee's corrections system. Violence at the Tiptonville prison led a grand jury to issue dozens of indictments in July, and Correction Commissioner Frank Strada stepped down after a botched execution in September.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour, ABC7 New York, ABC13 Houston and ABC11. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/751