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Crime & Safety

Escaped Tennessee murderer still missing after his stolen truck is found in Illinois

Jacob Morley, 28, is serving life for a 2022 murder, and officials offer up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest.

8 news outlets reported this
Liberal2 outletsCenter4 outletsConservative2 outlets
Published 3 min read
Overview

Jacob Allen Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Sunday. He is serving a life sentence for killing his co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. The Tennessee Department of Correction says staff noticed him missing around 11:30 p.m., and camera footage showed him getting through the perimeter fence in prison clothing.

The prison sits about 90 miles north of Memphis. Officials have not explained the method he used to get past the fence. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says video shows him taking a pickup truck from a spot about two miles from the prison around 1 a.m. Monday.

On Tuesday, the truck was found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north. Morley was not there, and his whereabouts remain unknown. He is on the state's most wanted list.

Officials offer a reward of up to $2,500 and describe him as dangerous. State troopers, including aviation units, are helping search. Authorities ask the public not to approach him and to call 911.

Outlets give different heights for him.

Three sides of the story

Liberal2 outlets

The Independent centers on the hunt and on the people affected. It reports that Marion Police Chief David Fitts said video showed the truck parked behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, and that Fitts said Morley "has vanished." It adds that Hornbeak firefighters say their cameras caught the truck minutes after it was taken.

The outlet gives room to people close to the victim: a woman who grew up with Birchfield and spoke to NewsNation, plus friends Daniel Russell and Diana Reid, who told WMC the escape reopens their pain. It also places the escape within a run of problems in Tennessee prisons. That includes Commissioner Frank Strada's resignation after the failed execution of Christa Pike, 470 open jobs among a 6,000-person workforce, and July over inmate killings.

A shorter Independent video item recaps the escape and the truck theft. The New York Times reports that a manhunt began after Morley, 28, was found missing late Sunday.

Center4 outlets

Centrist outlets lay out the escape and the search, then add background. The BBC draws on prison and court records. It reports Morley's June 2025 sentencing, a denied request for a new trial, a "low" supervision level and an earliest release date of December 2083.

It also notes that another inmate escaped and was recaptured earlier this month, and that the Pike led to Strada's resignation. Newsweek, using Associated Press reporting, describes the isolated rural setting near the Mississippi River and the search of nearby buildings. Straight Arrow News is shorter.

It describes the truck, quotes the Department of Correction's request for sightings, and repeats the warning not to approach him. NewsNation reports that a friend of the victim urges people to stay away from Morley and calls him "extremely dangerous."

Conservative2 outlets

Fox News and the Daily Wire give the most detail on the truck, the search and the victim's side. Fox lists the truck's make, plate number and company markings, and reports that the U.S. Marshals Service and Illinois State Police are assisting and that the Missouri State Highway Patrol urged residents to watch for him. Fox quotes retired Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam, who says Morley may lay low or seek another vehicle.

It quotes Diana Reid, a childhood friend of Birchfield, who says she fears he could hurt someone else. Fox also repeats trial testimony from Morley's former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd. The Daily Wire adds a fire department's report of the truck passing around 1:18 a.m. Monday, citing ABC News.

It also adds prison context: a 2023 audit showing a 61% vacancy rate among officer positions and July grand jury indictments.

Where outlets disagree
  • Morley's height
    • Newsweek: Newsweek gives his height as 5-foot-1.
    • Fox News: Fox News describes him as 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
All sources: 11 articles from 8 outlets

Liberal (3)

Center (4)

Conservative (4)

Grand jury

A group of citizens who decide behind closed doors whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. It does not decide guilt. That is for the trial.

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Indictment

A formal criminal charge, usually approved by a grand jury. It is not a finding of guilt: the person is innocent until a court says otherwise.

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Death row and lethal injection

Where prisoners sentenced to death wait, often for years, while their appeals are heard. The death penalty exists in about half the states and under federal law, and lethal injection is the usual method.

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FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation: the main federal police and counterintelligence agency, part of the Justice Department.

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