A Escaped Tennessee inmate Convicted of murdering a co-worker, he stole a truck from a nearby farm and apparently drove to southern Illinois before abandoning it, authorities said Tuesday.
Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was reported missing from the North West Correctional Complex on Sunday evening.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released surveillance video from the farm, located near Tiptonville and about a two-mile walk from the prison through fields, showing Morley opening the unlocked door on the driver’s side of the truck and leaving around 1 a.m. Monday.
Firefighters in Hornbeak, about 12 miles east of the farm, said on social media that investigators confirmed their cameras captured footage of the truck passing their station about 15 minutes later.
The truck was found abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the prison and about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis.
Marion Police Chief David Fitts said the truck appeared to be carefully parked behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to surveillance video. Someone reported it to the police around 11 a.m. Tennessee investigators said Morley still has not been found.
“He’s gone,” Fitts said. “We have not received any reports of stolen vehicles or anything else suspicious here.”
The authorities said Morley28, slipped through a fence in prison gear, but they have not released further details, including whether they think anyone helped him.
Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s house after he went missing for a few weeks. Both lived in Carter County in East Tennessee.
In addition to first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement searched buildings and other structures near the prison, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis on flat farmland near a bend of the Mississippi River.
The escape is the latest in a series of problems at Tennessee prisons.
Frank Strada, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections announced his resignation after less than three years of activity following the failed execution of Christa Pike on September 30.
Pike remained alive after receiving two massive doses of pentobarbital, the drug Tennessee uses for lethal injections. His lawyers said it appears the IVs in his arms were never properly inserted into his veins or burst quickly, preventing the drugs from entering his bloodstream. The state is conducting an independent investigation into its death penalty system and what happened to Pike.
During this time, several violent attacks between inmates and between employees have been reported in recent years at the Northwest Correctional Complex. In July, a grand jury returned dozens of indictments for five inmate murders and other acts of violence.
At a hearing before a Tennessee Senate subcommittee last month, prison officials said they had 470 vacancies among their 6,000 employees. They also warned that a 2022 law requiring inmates to serve more of their sentences would increase the prison population and could lead to overcrowding.
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