An escaped Tennessee convicted murderer was reportedly spotted playing slot machines inside an Indiana casino, prompting the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to request assistance from local law enforcement in checking surveillance footage and searching the property.
According to public dispatch audio from East Chicago, Indiana, police were contacted October 28, regarding a tip that escaped inmate Jacob Allen Morley had been seen playing slot machines at Ameristar Casino in East Chicago.
During the dispatch call, an officer said the request for assistance came from the TBI, which wanted a local unit to respond to the casino, review surveillance footage to see whether it showed Morley, and determine whether he was still at the property.
“They’re advising an escapee from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County, Tennessee, for murder charges, was seen at that casino at the slot machines,” a dispatcher said.
The dispatcher sought approval from a 2LT officer, likely a second lieutenant, to send a unit to Ameristar Casino to investigate the tip. The request was approved, and units were directed to respond to the casino and stand by for further instructions.
The audio does not establish whether officers located Morley, whether casino footage confirmed the sighting, or whether the tip was deemed credible.
Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on the night of October 25. He was convicted in 2025 of murdering Cody Birchfield in 2022 and sentenced to life in prison.
Authorities previously released surveillance footage allegedly showing Morley stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350 marked with Lindamood Planting Company from the 400 block of Keystone Drive in Lake County. Authorities later recovered the truck in Marion, Illinois.
The TBI has also investigated leads suggesting a suspect matching Morley’s description was involved in an armed bank robbery in Madison, Wisconsin, on October 27. Authorities have not confirmed Morley’s involvement in that robbery.
On October 30, the TBI said Morley remained at large and that the search was continuing. The agency announced that the reward for information leading to his arrest had increased to $17,500.
Morley is described as approximately 6 feet tall and 270 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair. He is listed on the TBI’s Most Wanted list and is considered dangerous.
Anyone with information about Morley’s whereabouts is urged to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Anyone who sees him should call 911 and avoid approaching him.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
