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A convicted killer who broke out of a Tennessee prison spent his time on the run hiding in a shed, drinking beer and making garlic bread, officials said.
Jacob Allen Morley broke out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Oct. 25 and was recaptured by authorities on Tuesday. He was arrested without incident after authorities used FLOCK cameras to help track him down, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“On November 3, 2026, at approximately 9:30 a.m., the Patrol’s Missouri Information Analysis Center and Troop A Communications received information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that Morley may be traveling westbound on Interstate 70 near Independence,” the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement. “The suspect vehicle was located using FLOCK cameras, and officers began to deploy to the area. With additional use of FLOCK cameras, the suspect vehicle was located by undercover officers traveling south on Missouri 291 in Liberty.”
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Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield when he escaped from a Tennessee prison Sunday, according to correctional officials. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Investigators believe Morley sheltered for a period in a shed near Marion, Illinois, that hunters used on an occasional basis, roughly 127 miles from the prison he escaped.
Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said evidence indicates Morley consumed beer and prepared garlic bread along with other food during his time there. Morley also wrote a handwritten letter of apology after taking a truck from the farm, Diederich said. He allegedly took clothes and three firearms from the property as well.
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A split image showing Jacob Morley before his Tennessee prison escape and after his recapture in Missouri. (Tennessee DOC, Missouri Highway Patrol)
The Illinois sheriff said he believes Morley covered roughly three miles on foot after leaving behind a separate truck he had used following the prison escape.
“How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery,” Diederich said.
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Officials previously said Morley stole a pickup truck from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, a location roughly 2 miles south of the prison, at around 1 a.m. Oct. 26, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. The truck was found abandoned by law enforcement officials early the next morning in Marion, Illinois, but Morley wasn’t located.
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In addition to the first-degree murder conviction, he was also found guilty of burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence and evading arrest.
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Surveillance footage shows convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley inside Northwest Correctional Complex before his escape. Authorities said Morley was captured on security video breaching a prison fence. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield.
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Birchfield disappeared in early February 2022 after he was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee. According to WJHL, investigators from the Carter County Sheriff’s Office saw indications that a “violent crime” had occurred inside his house.
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The stolen Ford F-350 authorities say escaped Tennessee inmate Jacob Morley drove after fleeing prison was found abandoned in Marion, Illinois. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)
On March 2, 2022, Morley was arrested after a police chase that went to the North Carolina state line. After the arrest, Birchfield’s body was found underneath Morley’s home.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
