As manhunt for escaped murderer continues, friends and family of victim speak out
Reward for information leading to Morley's arrest reaches combined $15K
MARION, Ill. -- Loved ones of Cody Birchfield, the murder victim of escaped Tennessee inmate Jacob Morley, are speaking out amid the manhunt for the 28-year-old fugitive as authorities upped the reward for information leading to his arrest.
Birchfield's sister and friends discussed the pain imposed by Morley's escape in separate statements to ABC News.
Carrie Norman, Birchfield's sister, said she was "reliving this horrible tragedy all over again."
Authorities announced on Wednesday the reward for information leading to Morley's arrest has reached a combined $15,000.
According to ABC News Tennessee affiliate WJHL, Morley was found guilty of murder in 2022. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Birchfield, a previously missing man whose body was discovered buried underneath Morley's home, according to the outlet.
Norman added, "I find myself asking the public for help to find my brother's murderer when he should be in prison locked away."
"He was a kind man that would help anyone by basically giving them the shirt of his back if they needed it," Norman said in a statement on Tuesday.
Diana Reid, a friend of Birchfield, said she was "horrified" that the convicted murderer could escape.
"Just knowing his killer is now on the run is terrifying. This news has made it difficult to even sleep or think clearly. How can you when you're being forced to relive the emotions of losing someone to murder, all while knowing the person responsible is out there somewhere?" she said.
Reid remembered her friend as a "good man with a heart for helping others."
She shared her concern for "public safety," adding, "We don't know what he may be willing to do to avoid being captured, and that's what scares me most."
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Morley, who is serving a life sentence, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) announced Monday.
"At approximately 11:30 p.m. on October 25, 2026, staff at NWCX confirmed Morley was unaccounted for and immediately conducted an emergency count and search of the facility," the agency said.
Security cameras "confirmed Morley breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform," officials said.
On Monday, authorities released a photo of a stolen truck sought in connection with the inmate. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said newly obtained footage "shows Morley stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350, Tennessee tag 138BBQV" at approximately 1 a.m. Monday from the 400 block of Keystone Drive.
On Tuesday, the TBI announced that authorities located the truck in Marion, Illinois, but Morley's location remained unknown.
ABC News'Madeline Wheeler contributed to this report.
