MANHUNT! Tennessee is hunting for Jacob Allen Morley, 28, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence who broke out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, about 90 miles north of Memphis, the BBC reported.
The Tennessee Department of Correction says security footage shows Morley breached the perimeter fence on Sunday and fled in his prison uniform. Investigators released video they say shows him stealing a nearby farm’s work vehicle. On Tuesday afternoon that vehicle was found in Illinois, about 120 miles north of Tiptonville. Morley wasn’t in it.
Here’s the jaw-dropper: prison records listed his supervision level as “low,” and he wasn’t eligible for release until December 2083. He’s now on the TBI’s most wanted list, with a reward of up to $2,500. The Highway Patrol has aircraft and troopers in the search.
Morley was convicted in 2025 of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of his co-worker Cody Birchfield, whose body was found in a metal box under Morley’s home, according to court records reviewed by the BBC. His 2022 arrest followed a police chase into North Carolina.
It’s another black eye for the state’s prisons. Earlier this month a 69-year-old inmate escaped and was quickly recaptured, and the corrections commissioner resigned after a botched execution in September.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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