Convicted Tennessee Murderer Captured After Weeklong Prison Escape

Convicted murderer Jacob Morley was captured and returned to custody on Tuesday, more than a week after escaping from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, state officials announced.^[1]

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Morley was taken into custody on November 3, ending an intensive multistate manhunt that had focused on parts of Tennessee and southern Illinois.^[1] Authorities did not immediately release details on where he was found or whether anyone else may face charges for helping him while he was on the run.^[1]

Correctional officers first discovered Morley missing from the Northwest Correctional Complex around 11:30 p.m. on October 25, triggering a lockdown and search of the prison and surrounding area. Security footage later showed him slipping through a fence on the grounds before leaving the facility. In the early hours of October 27, investigators say he stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 pickup in nearby Lake County, an apparent getaway vehicle that was later found abandoned that same day in Marion, Illinois, about 150 miles from the prison.

Morley had been serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his coworker, Cody Birchfield, whose body was discovered in a box hidden under Morley's home. The brutality of that case, combined with the discovery that Morley had made it across state lines after his escape, heightened public anxiety and prompted warnings from law enforcement for residents in the region to stay alert while the search was underway.

1. CBS News