Convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley has been captured in another state after more than a week on the run following his escape from a Tennessee prison, authorities said.
Morley, 28, was apprehended near Kansas City, Missouri, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced in an update on Tuesday, November 3.
“Thank you to the public for your assistance, vigilance, and the tips provided during this investigation,” the agency said.
Morley slipped past a fence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County, Tennessee, on the evening of October 25, successfully escaping the facility while still wearing his prison uniform, per the Associated Press.
Before he was eventually apprehended, Morley was last seen at the Pilot Travel Center in Marion, Illinois, the morning of October 26, after he allegedly stole a truck in Tennessee, according to investigators.
After leaving the prison, surveillance footage captured Morley stealing a truck belonging to a farming business in Lake County around 1 a.m. on October 26, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The truck was later found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, the next morning.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation warned Morley was “considered dangerous” during the manhunt.
Morley escaped prison while serving a life sentence for the killing of Cody Birchfield, according to authorities.
In 2025, Morley was convicted of charges including murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary in Birchfield’s death, per court records obtained by NBC News. Birchfield was Morley’s co-worker when he was killed.
Birchfield’s sister, Carrie Norman, said in an interview with the news outlet that she reported her 34-year-old brother as missing in February 2022.
The next month, Birchfield’s body was found in a metal box that had been buried beneath Morley’s home, after Morley allegedly fatally shot Birchfield in the head, according to court filings reviewed by NBC News.
As Morley remained at large for several days, a reward for information leading to his arrest increased to $17,500, according to authorities.
The circumstances of Morley’s arrest weren’t immediately clear.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in its update that “Additional details will be released as they become available.”
