Prison records list Morley’s ‘low’ supervision level and December 2083 release eligibility

The Tennessee Highway Patrol deployed aviation assets and state troopers to assist the search for Jacob Allen Morley after the 28-year-old escaped on Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Memphis, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. Prison records listed Morley’s supervision level as “low” and said he was not eligible for release until December 2083. Morley was serving a life sentence after his conviction for first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of colleague Cody Birchfield.

Prison staff confirmed Morley was “unaccounted for” on Sunday night and had begun an emergency headcount and search within the prison, officials said Monday. The Tennessee Department of Correction said camera footage had confirmed that Morley breached the prison’s perimeter fence and escaped in his prison uniform.

Investigators released security camera video they say shows Morley stealing a nearby farm’s work car. A caption accompanying the released video identified the scene as an escaped inmate stealing a truck.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said Morley had been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list. The department said a reward of up to $2,500 (£1,900) was being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Prison records showed Morley’s supervision level as “low” and said he was not eligible for release until December 2083. The records also showed that Morley had been found guilty of the 2022 killing of his co-worker and sentenced in 2025.

Morley was sentenced in June 2025 after being convicted of first-degree murder over the death of his colleague Cody Birchfield in 2022. CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported that Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home.

Besides murder, Morley was also convicted of vandalism, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary and evading arrest.

It was not the first time Morley had led law enforcement officials on a manhunt. His 2022 arrest came after a police chase that crossed state lines into North Carolina.

Earlier this month, another Tennessee prisoner, Gregory Redden, 69, escaped from custody while serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery, and he was recaptured shortly afterward.

A separate case has already changed the leadership of the Tennessee Department of Correction. Christa Pike, a convicted murderer and U.S. death-row inmate, survived a failed execution involving a lethal injection in Tennessee in September, and the case led to the resignation of TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada. Lawyers said Pike was awake and speaking after the failed execution.

The manhunt was under way, with state troopers assisting the search and Morley listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list.