Manhunt in Tennessee After Life-Sentence Murderer Jacob Morley Escapes Prison in Tiptonville
A manhunt has been launched in the US state of Tennessee after a prisoner serving a life sentence escaped from prison. The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) announced on Monday that Jacob Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in the community of Tiptonville.
Local outlets reported that staff noticed Morley was unaccounted for at about 11.30pm on Sunday. Staff then conducted an emergency headcount.
Prison surveillance footage showed Morley breached the perimeter fence and escaped the prison in his TDOC uniform, the local news outlet WATE reported.
TDOC describes Morley as being 5ft 11in and 240lbs with green eyes and brown hair.
Morley was serving a sentence of life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield, a Tennessee man who was initially reported missing in February 2022.
Birchfield's body was discovered buried beneath Morley's home about a month later.
Morley was also convicted of aggravated burglary, evidence tampering, evading arrest and vandalism.
TDOC said in a statement: 'Do not attempt to apprehend this fugitive,' adding that any information on Morley's whereabouts should be reported to TDOC.
The escape comes more than a year after a manhunt was launched after the escape of 10 detainees from a New Orleans jail. All 10 escapees, who got out through a hole in a wall behind a toilet, have since been recaptured.
