Multi-state manhunt underway as murder victims friend fears killer could strike again

The close friend of a Tennessee murder victim fears his convicted killer could strike again after escaping prison and triggering a multi-state manhunt.Jacob Allen Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Sunday, though officials have not said exactly when he got out.Prison staff discovered Morley was missing around 11:30 p.m., and a subsequent review of surveillance video showed him breaching the facility’s perimeter fence.Around 1 a.m.Monday, surveillance video captured Morley stealing a pickup truck from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, roughly two miles south of the prison, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.The white 2008 Ford F-350, bearing Tennessee license plate 138BBQV, has “Lindamood Planting Company” marked on its side.Morley was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 2025 of murdering Cody Birchfield three years earlier.On Tuesday afternoon, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that the truck Morley stole was found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, but his location remains unknown.Diana Reid, one of Birchfield’s close childhood friends, told Fox News Digital that she’s concerned Morley may hurt more people now that he’s on the run.“He’s already been convicted of taking an innocent life.

I believe he’s extremely dangerous and I’m genuinely concerned that someone else could end up hurt if he’s not caught soon,” Reid said.“I’m genuinely scared knowing that someone convicted of such a violent crime is out there, not knowing where he’s headed.What he’s capable of doing next is just frightening.”“He’s got absolutely nothing to lose at this point and someone could become a victim just so he can continue his path to wherever he’s headed,” she said.Reid said Birchfield was “such a kind soul” and “had the biggest heart.”“He was more than just a murder victim, that he was someone who was deeply loved.

He had a whole life ahead of him and...