Missouri State Highway Patrol captures convicted murderer who escaped Tennessee prison

Missouri state troopers have recaptured an escaped murderer who broke free from a Tennessee prison last week, a highway patrol spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

Jacob Allen Morley broke out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Oct. 25, officials there said previously.

Details about his capture were not immediately available, but the spokesperson said more information would be forthcoming.

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A split image showing Jacob Morley before his Tennessee prison escape and after his recapture in Missouri (Tennessee DOC, Missouri Highway Patrol)

"This just happened, so we're still getting all the details," he said.

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Staff at the prison noticed Morley was unaccounted for at around 11:30 p.m., and a review of surveillance footage subsequently revealed him crossing through the prison's perimeter fence. According to Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatch audio, Morley was last seen at the prison around 4 p.m. Sunday.

He later stole a truck, authorities alleged.

Morley was arrested in 2022 in connection with the murder of a man named Cody Birchfield. Police had initially arrested Morley near the border with North Carolina and later found Birchfield's body under Morley's home. In 2025, he was convicted at the end of a trial that included his ex-girlfriend testifying that, "he f---ing killed him."

Tennessee authorities later publicly thanked the public and the Missouri Highway Patrol for their help recapturing the killer, who was previously convicted of first-degree murder, burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.

Jacob Allen Morley, 28, who was serving a life sentence for murder, escaped from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, prompting a manhunt involving state and federal authorities. (Tennessee Department of Correction)