Escaped Tennessee inmate convicted of co-worker’s murder is recaptured, officials say

Troopers took Morley into custody without incident ending a weeklong hunt.

Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee’s far northwestern corner on Oct. 25, after he slipped through a fence in his prison clothes.

Surveillance video showed him stealing a truck from a farm near the prison, which he abandoned last week in Marion, Illinois. That is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the prison.

Morley was serving a life sentence for killing 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. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.

When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.

After his escape, law enforcement agencies searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is in Tiptonville, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River. Prison officials offered a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Morley’s arrest.

Morley’s escape is the latest blemish for Tennessee’s prison system.

Several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts.

Following the failed execution of Christa Pike in September, Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned after less than three years on the job.

Josh Kelety, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Escaped Tennessee inmate convicted of co-worker’s murder is recaptured, officials say

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