Escaped Tennessee killer apologised for taking truck in note left at Illinois farm

Newly reported details from the investigation include a handwritten note Morley left at an Illinois farm, apologising for taking the owners’ truck and asking them to tell his mother he loved her. The note, which police recovered at a hunting camp shed, helped connect him to the property during the search.

Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker in 2022 when he escaped from a Tennessee prison on 25 October by cutting through security fences. He allegedly stayed at the farm near Marion, drank beer, made garlic bread and took clothes and three firearms, as well as a truck. He was arrested near Norborne, Missouri, after more than a week on the run; the truck had become stuck in mud, and two rifles and a shotgun were found inside.