Authorities on Wednesday were still trying to piece together how an escaped Tennessee prisoner convicted of murder evaded capture for more than a week before being tracked down hundreds of miles away in Missouri.
Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was apprehended Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri, authorities said. Morley was found after troopers used roadside cameras and a helicopter to track him
down and his truck got stuck in the mud. Two rifles and a shotgun were recovered from the truck.
Authorities believe Morley found his way to a farm near Marion, Illinois — about 127 miles (204 kilometers) away — in the days after his escape, spending some time in a shed that was used periodically by hunters.
Investigators found evidence that he drank beer and prepared garlic bread and other food — and that he left behind an apologetic handwritten note after stealing a truck from the farm, according to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich. Morley is also suspected of stealing clothes and the three firearms from the property.
He was believed to have walked about 3 miles (5 kilometers) to the farm after abandoning a different truck he had driven after his escape. Security cameras captured Morley walking away from the truck and at a couple locations along Route 13, but the terrain — which includes fields and woods — would have made it tough for him to be spotted, Diederich said.
It’s unclear why Morley traveled to Marion and why he was driving near Kansas City, more than 350 miles (563 kilometers) away.
“How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery,” Diederich said.
Diederich said there's no evidence Morley had help from anyone.
Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee’s far northwestern corner on Oct. 25, after he slipped through a fence in his prison clothes. Surveillance video showed him stealing a truck from a farm near the prison, which he abandoned in Marion.
Kim Wheeler-Elder, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, wrote in a text message that all “available information” regarding Morley’s whereabouts when he was on the run has been released.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it was informed Tuesday morning that Morley was possibly traveling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area. Authorities said he was compliant when he was arrested.
Morley was transported Tuesday to the Lafayette County Jail in Lexington, Missouri, according to Justin Ewing, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No charges have been filed against him in Missouri courts, according to online court records.
District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. in Tennessee said in a phone interview that Morley could be charged in Missouri and Illinois, as well as in federal court. He plans to file additional charges but it's unclear when Morley will be returned to Tennessee.
Morley was convicted of killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks.
When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.
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Kelety reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed.
