Escaped Tennessee inmate convicted of co-worker’s murder recaptured in Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WBBJ/Gray News) - Escaped convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley was captured Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri, following a multi-state manhunt that reignited earlier in the day when authorities discovered he had stolen a second vehicle in Illinois.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, Morley was taken into custody without further incident by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as he traveled through the Kansas City area. Morley had been placed on the TBI’s Most Wanted list with a reward of up to $17,500 offered for his arrest.

Second Stolen Truck Breaks the Case

The breakthrough leading to Morley’s capture came early Tuesday morning in rural Williamson County, Illinois.

At approximately 7:34 a.m., Williamson County deputies responded to a report of a stolen white 2005 Ford pickup truck used as a farm vehicle. Investigators determined Morley was responsible for the theft and developed evidence confirming he had left southern Illinois in the truck, heading west.

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the Illinois State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the TBI and Missouri authorities to relay Morley’s route and vehicle description, culminating in his arrest by Missouri state troopers.

The Escape from Lake County

Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County on Oct. 25.

According to a timeline released by sources involved in the investigation, an inmate falsely covered for Morley during a 9:30 p.m. headcount before an officer noticed he was missing at 10:00 p.m. Investigators found Morley had cut through perimeter fences after hiding among pallets and a trash cart behind the prison’s main kitchen.

Around 1:00 a.m. on Oct. 26, Morley stole a 2008 Ford F-350 utility truck from Lake County and drove to Illinois. Surveillance footage showed Morley abandoned that first truck in Marion, Illinois, around 4:40 a.m, and managed to elude heavy law enforcement searches in the area for over a week before stealing the farm truck Tuesday.

Conviction and Warnings

Morley was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 2022 murder of coworker Cody Birchfield in Carter County, Tennessee. Following the escape, friends and family of Birchfield issued public warnings describing Morley as a dangerous killer who would not hesitate to strike again.

Authorities had also been investigating whether Morley was linked to an armed bank robbery in Dane County, Wisconsin, during his time on the run.

Extradition details and formal charges regarding his escape and vehicle thefts have not yet been announced.