Public Safety · Lake County
Convicted Murderer Escapes Tennessee Prison; Manhunt Spans to Illinois
Jacob Morley, a 28-year-old serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of co-worker Cody Birchfield, escaped late Sunday night from the Northwest Correctional Complex near Tiptonville, Tennessee. He stole a truck from a nearby farm and abandoned it Tuesday behind a strip mall in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison. Authorities have not received credible tips that Morley remained in the Marion area. The escape adds to problems at Tennessee's prisons, where officials reported 470 open jobs among a 6,000-person workforce and the district attorney is prosecuting 19 cases tied to violence at the same facility, including five inmate deaths.