Tennessee prison escapee crossed state lines before prison officials alerted external law enforcement, district attorney says
A photo from a wanted poster released Monday shows surveillance images of inmate Jacob Allen Morley taken during his escape late Sunday.
By Chris Boyette, Isabel Rosales, Julianna Bragg, Vivian Phillips, Holly Yan
(CNN) — A convicted murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison last weekend had already crossed state lines before prison officials alerted external law enforcement agencies, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr.
Jacob Morley had been in Marion, Illinois, by 4:40 a.m. Monday, but local law enforcement was not notified until 6:15 a.m., following multiple cell counts late Sunday, Goodman told CNN Friday.
“The biggest concern I have, obviously, is just the large gap between the time that someone was notified,” he said. “If they had known as quickly as the department of corrections knew…that would have given two hours for local police to be patrolling, and good chance they catch him before he gets out of the county.”
Now, authorities in multiple states are scrambling to find Morley, who is “considered dangerous and could be anywhere,” the Tennessee Department of Correction warned in a social media post Friday afternoon. The department asked truck drivers and travelers who were in Marion Monday morning to review dash camera footage for suspicious activity.
“We ask the public to remain vigilant, check on family members and neighbors, and be alert for suspicious activity on your properties, including vacant homes, vacation properties, and outbuildings.”
Morley, 28, escaped late Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, in the northwestern corner of Tennessee, officials said.
Before fleeing the state, Morley stole a 2008 white Ford F-350 early Monday, investigators said. The truck was found abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois – about a 130-mile drive north of the prison, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
The stolen truck apparently sat in southern Illinois for more than a day before police found it, investigators said. Surveillance video shows the truck was apparently abandoned in Illinois around 4:40 a.m. Monday, Marion police Lt. Justin Dwyer told CNN. He said police found the truck around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Video evidence so far indicates Morley headed toward a highway after leaving the truck, Dwyer said.
Marion police have reviewed a handful of grainy surveillance videos that match Morley’s description but haven’t been able to confirm whether he is still in Marion, according to Dwyer.
“We have continually searched neighborhoods, knocked on doors and followed every lead and tip that we receive. Although there is no indication he is still in Marion, we will continue to assume he is and will be on the lookout,” Dwyer said.
“All of our officers and detectives are well versed in Morley’s descriptors, photographs, etc., and will diligently canvass the area until we are confident he isn’t here or has been captured.”
Morley is the second inmate to escape this month from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction, whose commissioner resigned after the botched execution last month of Christa Pike. Pike is now back in a maximum-security prison. Gov. Bill Lee announced the appointment of Christopher Hansen as interim commissioner of the department on Friday.
Morley is now on the TBI’s “Most Wanted” list, with a combined reward of $17,500 offered by the Tennessee governor’s office, the TBI and the US Marshals Service for information leading to his arrest.
Convicted killer vanishes in the dark
Morley was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
A correctional officer conducted a routine cell count at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Goodman, the district attorney. When an officer knocked on Morley’s cell and asked how many inmates were inside, an inmate falsely claimed two were present, but Morley was not in the cell, Goodman said.
CNN has reached out to the Tennessee Department of Correction for comment.
He escaped through a fence at the prison in Tiptonville late Sunday, and staff confirmed he was missing around 11:30 p.m., the Tennessee Department of Correction said. Prison staff alerted an internal investigator around 2 a.m., but state agencies and the DA’s office weren’t notified until 5:30 a.m., according to Goodman.
Security camera footage later revealed Morley “breached the perimeter fence” and fled wearing his prison uniform, the department said. Goodman said he cut through the security fences and hid among pallets and a trash cart behind the main kitchen. Goodman added he doesn’t know what tool he used to cut through the fence or how he obtained it.
He then stole the truck early Monday in Lake County, where Tiptonville is the county seat, the TBI said.
“Everybody is locking their car doors now,” local attorney Bridget Lawler said Wednesday. “My husband checked all of our doors before he went to bed.”
In Marion, a small Illinois city of about 17,600 people, one resident told CNN: “It’s a scary time.”
Marion police said they notified the public through local media outlets. But one resident said she didn’t get an alert from local authorities.
“No one that I have talked to has mentioned seeing it, either,” Lachelle Hartline told CNN. “We only got information through Facebook.”
Victim’s family worries what the fugitive might do next
Morley was convicted in the killing of Cody Birchfield, who was initially reported missing in February 2022, the Carter County Sheriff’s Office said. Birchfield’s body was found weeks after he went missing, in a box under Morley’s house, The Associated Press reported.
Birchfield’s older sister said her brother was always there for his family. “It didn’t matter when, where, or what you needed,” Carrie Norman told CNN affiliate WCYB.
After learning her brother’s killer had escaped, “You feel sick to your stomach,” Norman said. “It’s all those feelings come rushing back.”
A cousin of Birchfield’s, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, told CNN Morley’s life sentence gave the family “a small sense of closure and the reassurance that justice had been served.” But learning of his escape has reopened their “deepest wounds.”
The cousin said the family’s primary concerns are public safety and keeping attention on Morley’s escape, urging anyone with information to tell authorities.
But the victim’s family also wants to make sure Birchfield is never forgotten.
“Above all, we want Cody to be remembered not for the tragedy of his death, but for the warmth, kindness, and decency of his life,” the cousin said.
Another cousin of Birchfield’s, who also asked to speak anonymously for safety reasons, told CNN they’re worried about the safety of Birchfield’s father and sister, who still live in the same area.
“If that man can do that to my cousin,” the family member said, “what’s he going to do to the next individual?”
The-CNN-Wire
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