马里昂市警长大卫·菲茨周三表示，自周日逃脱以来一直在逃的已定罪杀人犯雅各布·莫利，与在该市发现的他涉嫌偷窃的卡车所在地——伊利诺伊州的这个小镇——没有已知联系。“我们目前掌握的情况倾向于认为他不再在这里。但这并不意味着我们已经停止搜寻，”伊利诺伊州马里昂市警长大卫·菲茨说。
Jacob Morley, a convicted killer on the loose since Sunday, has no known connection to the small Illinois town where the truck he allegedly stole was found, the police chief there said Wednesday. “What we have seen kind of leads us in the direction that he’s not still here. But that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped looking,” Marion, Illinois, Police Chief David Fitts said.
田纳西州官员称，28岁的莫利因2022年杀害一名同事而正在服无期徒刑，他在周日夜里11点30分前某个时候从蒂普顿维尔的西北矫正中心逃脱。马里昂市和田纳西州当局称，莫利偷走了一辆工作卡车，周二早些时候，这辆卡车在马里昂市一家企业后面被发现，该镇人口约1.6万，位于蒂普顿维尔以北约100英里处。
Morley, 28, convicted of killing a co-worker in 2022, was serving a life sentence when he escaped from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, sometime before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, officials there said. Morley had stolen a work truck, and early Tuesday that truck was found behind a business in Marion, a town of around 16,000 that is around 100 miles north of Tiptonville, authorities in Marion and Tennessee said.
菲茨说，马里昂市没有接到其他车辆被盗的报告，在发现的卡车周围也没有发现证据。他还说，也没有确认的目击报告。“在这里，他真的无处可去而不被认出来。他的脸到处都是新闻，”菲茨说。莫利与马里昂市或伊利诺伊州南部没有已知联系，他说。“不知道他为什么会来这里，除了57号州际公路是一条主要州际公路，正好穿过我们镇中心，”菲茨说。“而且我也不知道，也许他油快没了就下了高速。我也不清楚。”
There have been no reports in Marion of any other stolen vehicles and there was no evidence around the truck that was found, Fitts said. There have also been no confirmed sightings, he said. “There’s really nowhere for him to go here where he wouldn’t be recognized. His face is all over the news,” Fitts said. Morley has no known connection to Marion or southern Illinois, he said. “Have no idea why he would come here, other than I-57 is a major interstate and it runs right through the middle of our town,” Fitts said. “And I don’t know, maybe he was low on gas and just pulled off. I don’t know.”
法庭文件显示，莫利因2022年向科迪·伯奇菲尔德后脑勺开枪而被指控。文件称，伯奇菲尔德的尸体在莫利住所下的一个大金属箱中被发现。伯奇菲尔德的妹妹卡丽·诺曼周三表示，“感觉像在恐怖片里。”她说，全家人“必须再次经历那段经历”。
Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary after a trial in February 2025. He also pleaded guilty to theft of property. He was accused of shooting Cody Birchfield in the back of the head in 2022, according to court documents. Birchfield’s body was found in a large metal box under Morley’s residence, the documents say. Birchfield’s sister, Carrie Norman, said Wednesday that “it feels like a scary movie.”
“因为你不知道他在哪里，但你知道他有什么能力。”周三，田纳西州调查局表示，提供线索导致莫利被捕的奖金已从2500美元增加到1.5万美元，这是田纳西州州长办公室、田纳西州调查局和美国联邦法警局共同出资的总额。菲茨表示，他希望莫利已被抓获，但他敦促人们不要自行采取行动。“我们找不到他，这真的很令人沮丧。总会有人找到他的，我对此毫不怀疑。我希望是我们找到他，这样我们现在就能抓住他，”菲茨说。“但我只想让我们的民众知道，再次强调，不要接近他。拨打911。我们会处理。”
The family, she said, “have to go back through the experience — once again. Once again, because you don’t know where he’s at, but you know what he’s capable of.”Also Wednesday, the reward for information leading to Morley’s arrest increased from $2,500 to $15,000, a combined sum from the Tennessee governor’s office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service, the bureau said. Fitts said he wished the Morley had been caught, but he urged people to not take things into their own hands. “This is really frustrating that we can’t find him. Somebody will eventually, I have no doubt in my mind. I wish it was us so we could catch him now,” Fitts said. “But, and I just want to let our people know that, again, don’t approach him. Call 911. We’ll handle it.”Around 11:30 p.m.
田纳西州惩教部表示，周日晚上11点30分左右，监狱工作人员确认莫利下落不明，并对设施进行了紧急清点和搜查。该部门表示，监控录像显示莫利“突破了周界围栏，身穿田纳西州惩教部制服离开了设施”。该部门尚未透露更多关于越狱如何发生的细节，称周三此事正在调查中。
Sunday, prison staff confirmed that Morley was unaccounted for, and conducted an emergency count and search of the facility, the Tennessee Department of Correction said. Security video showed Morley “breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform,” the department said. The department has not given more details about how the escape occurred, which it said Wednesday was under investigation.