Jacob Morley, a convicted killer on the loose since Sunday, has no known connection to the small Illinois town where the truck he allegedly stole was found, the police chief there said Wednesday.
uncertain
chief → convict → town
“What we have seen kind of leads us in the direction that he’s not still here.
asserted
he → see → direction
But that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped looking,” Marion, Illinois, Police Chief David Fitts said.
asserted
Fitts → mean → ?
Morley, 28, convicted of killing a co-worker in 2022, was serving a life sentence when he escaped from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, sometime before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, officials there said.
asserted
officials → convict → p.m.
Morley had stolen a work truck, and early Tuesday that truck was found behind a business in Marion, a town of around 16,000 that is around 100 miles north of Tiptonville, authorities in Marion and Tennessee said.
asserted
authorities → steal → Marion
There have been no reports in Marion of any other stolen vehicles and there was no evidence around the truck that was found, Fitts said.
asserted
Fitts → steal → truck
There have also been no confirmed sightings, he said.
asserted
he → confirm → ?
“There’s really nowhere for him to go here where he wouldn’t be recognized.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
His face is all over the news,” Fitts said.
asserted
Fitts → say → news
Morley has no known connection to Marion or southern Illinois, he said.
asserted
he → have → Marion
“Have no idea why he would come here, other than I-57 is a major interstate and it runs right through the middle of our town,” Fitts said.
asserted
Fitts → have → town
“And I don’t know, maybe he was low on gas and just pulled off.
asserted
he → know → gas
I don’t know.”
asserted
I → know → ?
Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary after a trial in February 2025.
asserted
Morley → convict → February
He also pleaded guilty to theft of property.
asserted
He → plead → property
He was accused of shooting Cody Birchfield in the back of the head in 2022, according to court documents.
uncertain
He → accuse → documents
Birchfield’s body was found in a large metal box under Morley’s residence, the documents say.
asserted
documents → find → residence
Birchfield’s sister, Carrie Norman, said Wednesday that “it feels like a scary movie.”
asserted
it → say → movie
The family, she said, “have to go back through the experience — once again.
asserted
she → say → experience
Once again, because you don’t know where he’s at, but you know what he’s capable of.”
asserted
he → know → what
Also Wednesday, the reward for information leading to Morley’s arrest increased from $2,500 to $15,000, a combined sum from the Tennessee governor’s office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service, the bureau said.
asserted
bureau → lead → Investigation
Fitts said he wished the Morley had been caught, but he urged people to not take things into their own hands.
asserted
he → say → hands
“This is really frustrating that we can’t find him.
asserted
we → find → him
Somebody will eventually, I have no doubt in my mind.
asserted
I → have → mind
I wish it was us so we could catch him now,” Fitts said.
uncertain
Fitts → wish → him
“But, and I just want to let our people know that, again, don’t approach him.
asserted
people → want → him
We’ll handle it.”
asserted
We → handle → it
Around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, prison staff confirmed that Morley was unaccounted for, and conducted an emergency count and search of the facility, the Tennessee Department of Correction said.
asserted
Department → confirm → Correction
Security video showed Morley “breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform,” the department said.
asserted
department → show → uniform
The department has not given more details about how the escape occurred, which it said Wednesday was under investigation.
asserted
it → give → investigation
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