TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for killing his co-worker four years ago has escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee by slipping through a fence, authorities said.
Officials realized Jacob Morley, 28, was unaccounted for around 11:30 p.m. Sunday at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement.
Investigators looked at security cameras and saw Morley escaped while wearing his prison uniform, officials said. They did not release any other details, including how Morley got through the fence.
Prison officials offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley's arrest. They said law enforcement throughout the area has searched buildings and other structures near the prison about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in an isolated, rural area of flat land tucked near a bend in the Mississippi River near Missouri.
Morley is 5-foot-11 (1.8 meters) and 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley was sentenced to life for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield's body was found in a box under Morley's Carter County home after he had been missing for a few weeks.
Along with first-degree murder, Morley was also convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home in 2022, he led police on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
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 murders, assaults against staff and inmates and other violence.
Northwest Correctional Complex can house 1,776 men and can house minors who have been convicted as adults, according to the Department of Correction. In 2023, an audit of Tennessee prisons found that the department was struggling to fill open positions at the prison and had a 61% vacancy rate for correctional officers in that fiscal year.
This booking photo released by the Tennessee Department of Corrections on July 24, 2025, shows Jacob Morley. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or on Monday and became the first Englishman in 25 years to receive the prestigious prize.
The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals for club and country last season and smashed scoring records in Germany and at the World Cup, where he captained England to a third-place finish.
Kane was the top vote-getter among nominees who included Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
“My journey wasn't straightforward. I had to fight my way to be the very best right now,” an emotional Kane said.
Kane led Bayern to the Bundesliga and German Cup double, scoring a hat trick against Stuttgart in the cup final.
At the World Cup, he scored six times to pass Gary Lineker as England’s highest World Cup scorer and place himself among the all-time top five. England reached the semifinals where it lost to Argentina.
An Englishman hadn’t won the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001.
Monday’s ceremony was held in London for the first time in recognition of the inaugural winner 70 years ago, England’s Stanley Matthews in 1956.
Earlier, Spain star Alexia Putellas won her third women’s Ballon d’Or after leading her former club Barcelona to multiple trophies last season including the Women’s Champions League.
Putellas, who joined London City Lionesses in the offseason, also helped Spain win the Women’s Nations League last December.
The 32-year-old midfielder ended Spain teammate Aitana Bonmati’s three-year reign.
Putellas won the prestigious award in back-to-back seasons — 2021 and ‘22 — before tearing her ACL and seeing Bonmati rise to stardom. Bonmati, who completed her women’s Ballon d’Or three-peat in 2025, was not on this year’s shortlist after breaking her leg in December.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Spain's London City Lionesses' Alexia Putellas wins the player of the year trophy during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Spain's London City Lionesses' Alexia Putellas wins the player of the year trophy during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
England's soccer player Harry Kane wins the trophy for striker of the year during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
England's soccer player Harry Kane wins the trophy for striker of the year during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
