A close friend of a Tennessee murder victim fears the convicted killer could harm someone else after escaping prison and prompting a multistate manhunt.
Jacob Allen Morley escaped Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, although officials have not determined exactly when he fled. Staff realized he was missing at about 11:30 p.m., and a review of surveillance footage showed Morley crossing the facility’s perimeter fence.
Around 1 a.m. Monday, cameras recorded Morley allegedly stealing a pickup truck in the 400 block of Keystone Drive, about two miles south of the prison, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. The white 2008 Ford F-350 bears Tennessee license plate 138BBQV and is marked “Lindamood Planting Company.”
Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield when he escaped from a Tennessee prison Sunday, according to correction officials. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Morley received a life sentence after being convicted in 2025 of killing Cody Birchfield in 2022.
Diana Reid, one of Birchfield’s close childhood friends, told News Media she fears Morley could hurt additional people while he remains at large.
“He’s already been convicted of taking an innocent life. I believe he’s extremely dangerous and I’m genuinely concerned that someone else could end up hurt if he’s not caught soon,” Reid said. “I’m genuinely scared knowing that someone convicted of such a violent crime is out there, not knowing where he’s headed. What he’s capable of doing next is just frightening.”
Surveillance footage shows convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley inside Northwest Correctional Complex before his escape Sunday. Authorities said Morley was captured on security video breaching a prison fence. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
“He’s got absolutely nothing to lose at this point and someone could become a victim just so he can continue his path to wherever he’s headed,” she said.
Reid remembered Birchfield as “such a kind soul” who “had the biggest heart.”
“He was more than just a murder victim, that he was someone who was deeply loved. He had a whole life ahead of him and he was completely robbed of that when he was murdered,” Reid said.
As the search widened beyond Tennessee, the Missouri State Highway Patrol urged residents to stay alert and review their home surveillance footage for possible sightings of the escaped inmate.
Morley is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said he should be “considered dangerous” and added him to the state’s most wanted list.
Surveillance footage shows Jacob Allen Morley, 28, inside Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, before he escaped Sunday. Morley was serving a life sentence for murder, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Along with first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence and evading arrest.
Officials said federal and state law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search for Morley.
Birchfield vanished in early February 2022 after he was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Investigators with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office found signs that a “violent crime” had taken place inside his home, according to WJHL.
Morley was arrested March 2, 2022, following a police chase that ended at the North Carolina state line. Afterward, Birchfield’s body was discovered beneath Morley’s home.
During Morley’s trial, his former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd, testified that he said at one point, “he f—ing killed him.”
Anyone with information about Morley’s whereabouts is urged to call 844-832-3463.