Escaped Tennessee murderer recaptured in Missouri after week-long manhunt

US authorities have recaptured a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison more than a week ago. Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of his colleague when he fled the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, about 90 miles north of Memphis. The Tennessee Department of Correction said security footage showed Morley, wearing his prison uniform, breaching the prison fence at around 11:30pm on 25 October. He later stole a vehicle from a nearby farm. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that Morley was in custody following an operation involving local, state and federal agencies. Investigators received a tip that he was hiding on an Illinois property, from which a truck had also been stolen. The truck's licence plate was tracked through automatic plate-reader technology as it travelled through Missouri, where local authorities were dispatched to follow it. Morley was apprehended by the Missouri State Highway Patrol without incident in Carroll County at 11:34am local time on Tuesday. Three firearms that had previously been reported stolen were recovered from the vehicle, according to the TBI. Photos released by authorities showed Morley handcuffed and being led out of a field by officers. Following the escape, Morley was added to the TBI's most wanted list, and the Tennessee Department of Correction offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest. That reward was increased by $15,000 on Wednesday. The TBI said members of the public had provided information during the investigation, but did not say whether the reward had been paid. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the manhunt involved officers from the Kansas City Police Department, the Independence Police Department, the FBI, the US Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his colleague Cody Birchfield and was sentenced in June 2025. His request for a new trial was denied in May. According to Carter County court records reviewed by the BBC, Birchfield's body was found in a metal box under Morley's home. A pathology report cited in court said Birchfield died as a result of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, and bullet casings matched a gun found in Morley's house. In a victim impact statement, Birchfield's sister said the two men had developed a friendship while Birchfield was training Morley at the pallet manufacturing company where they both worked. In addition to murder, Morley was convicted of vandalism, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary and evading arrest. The escape was not Morley's first encounter with a manhunt. His 2022 arrest came after a police chase that crossed state lines into North Carolina. The Northwest Correctional Complex is a men's prison with capacity for up to 1,776 inmates, housing security levels from low to maximum. According to the BBC's partner CBS, the prison has seen numerous acts of violence in recent years, and in July a grand jury returned dozens of indictments over assaults on staff and the murders of five inmates.