Escaped killer left behind the most bizarre apology note while on the run

A Tennessee prisoner who escaped while serving a life sentence for murder was caught on Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri, after more than a week on the run. Jacob Morley, 28, was tracked down with the help of roadside cameras and a helicopter, and his truck became stuck in the mud, authorities said. Two rifles and a shotgun were recovered from the vehicle.

On Wednesday, investigators were still working out how Morley managed to avoid capture for so long before being found hundreds of miles from the prison. Morley was serving his sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago. Authorities believe that in the days after his escape, he made his way to a farm near Marion, Illinois, roughly 127 miles (204 kilometers) away.

He spent time in a shed on the property that hunters used periodically. Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said investigators found evidence that Morley drank beer and prepared garlic bread and other food at the farm. He also left behind a handwritten note apologizing after taking a truck from the property, the sheriff said.

Morley is additionally suspected of stealing clothes and the three firearms from the farm. He is believed to have walked about 3 miles (5 kilometers) to reach the farm after abandoning a different truck he had driven following his escape. Security cameras recorded him walking away from that truck and at a couple of locations along Route 13.

Diederich said the terrain, which includes fields and woods, would have made it hard for anyone to spot him. It remains unclear why Morley went to Marion, and why he was driving near Kansas City, more than 350 miles (563 kilometers) from the prison. “How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery,” Diederich said.

Diederich said there is no evidence that anyone helped Morley. Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex, in Tennessee's far northwestern corner, on Oct. 25, after slipping through a fence in his prison clothes. Surveillance video showed him stealing a truck from a farm near the prison, which he later abandoned in Marion.

Kim Wheeler-Elder, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, wrote in a text message that all “available information” regarding Morley's whereabouts when he was on the run has been released. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it was told on Tuesday morning that Morley was possibly traveling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area.

Authorities said he was compliant when he was arrested. Morley was taken to the Lafayette County Jail in Lexington, Missouri, on Tuesday, according to Justin Ewing, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Online court records show no charges have been filed against him in Missouri courts. Tennessee Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. said in a phone interview that Morley could face charges in Missouri and Illinois, as well as in federal court.

Goodman plans to file additional charges, but it is unclear when Morley will be returned to Tennessee. Morley was convicted of killing his co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield's body was found in a box under Morley's home after he had been missing for a few weeks.