Convicted murderer recaptured in Missouri after escaping Tennessee prison

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, roughly 90 miles (145 km) 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, according to the agency. 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. The Missouri State Highway Patrol apprehended Morley 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, the TBI said. 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 (£1,900) 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 Cody Birchfield, whose body was found in a metal box under Morley's home, according to Carter County court records reviewed by the BBC. 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 recovered at the scene matched a gun found in Morley's house. He was sentenced in June 2025, and his request for a new trial was denied in May. In a victim impact statement, Birchfield's sister told the court that the two men had developed a friendship while Birchfield was training Morley at the pallet manufacturing company where both were employed. 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 large-scale police response. His 2022 arrest followed 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 facility 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.