Authorities Reveal What Convicted Killer Did While on the Run
Andrew Powell · Nov 6, 2026 · 2 min read
A convicted Tennessee murderer spent part of his time as a fugitive hiding in an Illinois shed, where investigators say he drank beer, cooked food and even made garlic bread before authorities tracked him down.
According to Fox News, Jacob Allen Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Oct. 25.
He remained at large until Nov. 3, when officers in Missouri located him using a network of FLOCK surveillance cameras.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said investigators received information from Tennessee authorities that Morley might be traveling west on Interstate 70 near Independence. Officers used camera footage to identify his vehicle before undercover personnel spotted it traveling south on Missouri 291 in Liberty.
Morley was taken into custody without incident.
Investigators believe he had spent time at a shed near Marion, Illinois, approximately 127 miles from the prison. The structure was occasionally used by hunters, according to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich.
Diederich said evidence at the property indicated Morley had been drinking beer and preparing meals, including garlic bread. Authorities also believe he took clothing and three firearms from the shed, along with a truck.
After taking the vehicle, Morley allegedly wrote a handwritten apology letter before leaving. Diederich said investigators believe the fugitive later abandoned another truck and traveled roughly three miles on foot.
"How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery," the sheriff said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation previously reported that Morley stole a pickup truck from a location about two miles south of the prison shortly after midnight on Oct. 26. Police found that vehicle abandoned in Marion the following morning, but Morley had disappeared.
Morley was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield. Birchfield was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in early February of that year.
Investigators later found evidence of a violent crime inside Birchfield's home. Morley was arrested on March 2, 2022, following a police pursuit that reached the North Carolina state line.
After his arrest, authorities discovered Birchfield's body beneath Morley's home. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, along with burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest.