New timeline details escape of convicted murderer Jacob Morley from Tenn. prison

LAKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WBBJ) - New details have emerged regarding the escape of convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley from the Northwest Correctional Complex, revealing hours of delay before prison staff notified outside law enforcement.

According to 29th Judicial District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr., Morley had already crossed state lines before prison officials alerted outside agencies.

“He was already in Marion, Illinois, before they ever called anyone outside of TDOC,” Goodman said.

Goodman said Morley was unaccounted for following an inmate head count, and staff alerted an internal investigator around 2:00 a.m. However, that investigator did not notify the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), or the District Attorney’s Office until 5:30 a.m. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department was not contacted until 6:15 a.m.

Sources involved in the investigation released a detailed timeline detailing the hours surrounding the escape:

• Sunday, Oct. 25, 9:30 p.m.: A correctional officer conducted a routine cell count—a procedure in which one officer counts inmates and a second follows to verify. When the first officer reached Morley’s cell, the door window was covered. Rather than having the cover removed, the officer knocked and asked how many inmates were inside. An inmate falsely claimed two were present. Morley was not in the cell.
• 10:00 p.m.: The second officer conducting the verification check discovered Morley was missing.
• 11:47 p.m.: Prison officials called an emergency count and confirmed Morley was absent. Investigators believe Morley had already left the grounds by this point.
• Monday, Oct. 26, 12:25 a.m.: Prison staff conducted a second emergency count, suspecting Morley was hiding on facility grounds.
• Around 1:00 a.m.: Morley reportedly stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 utility truck marked with “Lindamood Planting Company” and headed toward Illinois.
• 2:20 a.m.: Prison staff notified an internal TDOC investigator.
• 3:30 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.: Staff discovered breached perimeter security fences where Morley had cut his way out after hiding among pallets and a trash cart behind the main kitchen.
• 5:30 a.m. – 6:15 a.m.: Outside state and local law enforcement agencies were formally notified.

The stolen truck was later found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, where local police reported no indication Morley remained in the immediate area.

Morley was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield in Carter County.

Authorities are also probing a possible link between Morley and a Tuesday afternoon armed robbery at the Bank of Deerfield in Dane County, Wisconsin. In that incident, an armed assailant bound employees and escaped in a stolen vehicle that was later found abandoned. The TBI confirmed it is tracking the Wisconsin incident, though no formal connection has been established.

Morley is on the TBI’s Most Wanted list and is considered dangerous. The U.S. Marshals Service and state authorities are offering up to a $17,500 reward for information leading to his capture. Anyone with details on his whereabouts should call 1-800-TBI-FIND or dial 911.