A truck taken by a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison turned up abandoned in southern Illinois, authorities said on Tuesday.
asserted
authorities → take → Tuesday
Jacob Morley, 28, was still at large, with Tennessee investigators saying he still hasn't been found.
asserted
he → say → ?
Authorities found the vehicle in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the prison and roughly 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis.
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Authorities → find → Louis
Marion Police Chief David Fitts said surveillance video showed the truck parked neatly behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday.
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truck → say → Tuesday
Someone reported it to police at about 11 a.m.
“He has vanished,” Fitts said.
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Fitts → report → a.m.
“We haven’t had any reports of stolen vehicles or anything else suspicious around here.”
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We → have → vehicles
Morley had been discovered missing from the Northwest Correctional Complex late Sunday.
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Morley → discover → Complex
Authorities said Morley slipped through a fence in his prison clothes.
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Morley → say → clothes
They haven't released additional details, including whether they think anyone helped him.
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anyone → release → him
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released surveillance video from the farm where the truck was taken.
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truck → release → farm
The footage shows Morley open the truck's unlocked driver's side door and drive off at about 1 a.m. Monday.
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Morley → show → a.m.
Firefighters in Hornbeak, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of the farm, said on social media that investigators confirmed their cameras captured footage of the truck driving by their station about 15 minutes later.
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cameras → say → station
In an interview with NewsNation, a woman who grew up with Morley’s victim described herself as being “absolutely horrified” to hear of his escape and called him “extremely dangerous.”
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who → grow → him
“I want people to recognize his face and understand what he is capable of.
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he → want → what
Someone could unknowingly cross paths with him without realizing the danger they may be in,” the unnamed woman said.
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woman → cross → danger
Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (109 kilograms).
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Morley → weigh → pounds
He has brown hair and green eyes.
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He → have → hair
Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022.
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Morley → serve → 2022
Birchfield's body was found in a box under Morley's home after he had been missing for a few weeks.
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he → find → weeks
The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.
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two → live → Tennessee
Along with first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.
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Morley → convict → arrest
When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
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authorities → see → Carolina
A friend of Birchfield's, Daniel Russell, told WMC in Memphis that Morley's escape has reminded the victim's loved ones of the pain of the murder.
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escape → tell → murder
He would take his shirt off his back, even if it was his last shirt, and give it to you.
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it → take → you
He had a heart of gold...
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He → have → gold
I was never going to have to see his face again, and then wake up yesterday morning, and it’s everywhere for all of us to see again and knowing he’s out on the street and he may do it to somebody else’s family,” Russell said of his friend.
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Russell → go → friend
“If he will kill somebody the way he killed Cody, he’s a monster.
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he → kill → Cody
He will do it again when the first opportunity comes,” Russell added.
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Russell → do → it
While another friend, Diana Reid, told the station, “We felt like justice, to a certain degree, was in place with him being incarcerated.
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him → tell → place
It doesn’t bring Cody back, but at least justice was served in that aspect/
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justice → bring → aspect/
”
“But now he’s out.
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he → ’ → ?
So where’s Cody’s justice?
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justice → ’ → ?
Where’s the peace that his family had just knowing that he wasn’t roaming the streets?,” she continued.
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she → ’ → streets
Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley's arrest.
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officials → offer → arrest
They said law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River.
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which → say → River
Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation after less than three years on the job following the failed execution of Christa Pike on Sept. 30.
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Strada → announce → Sept.
Pike remained alive after being given two massive doses of pentobarbital, the drug Tennessee uses in lethal injections.
Her lawyers said it appears the IVs in her arms were never properly inserted into her veins or blew out quickly, keeping the drugs from entering her bloodstream.
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IVs → remain → bloodstream
The state is conducting an independent investigation into its death penalty system and what happened to Pike.
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what → conduct → Pike
Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex.
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attacks → report → Complex
A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts.
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jury → return → killings
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
