Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted murderer facing life behind bars, escaped from the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township, Pennsylvania on Thursday, August 31 after scaling a wall and pushing through razor wire.
For over a week, hundreds of state and federal officers, on foot and horseback, have combed a heavily wooded area just outside the prison. But with nearby residents on edge, Cavalcante remains at large, with only a few confirmed sightings of the man authorities consider “extremely dangerous.” Here’s what we know.
Who is Danelo Cavalcante?
The 34-year-old Brazilian national was convicted of first-degree murder in the April 2021 killing of his former girlfriend, 33-year-old Deborah Brandao. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Cavalcante had a history of domestic violence against Brandao before he threw her to the ground and stabbed her more than 30 times in front of her two children. He initially fled the scene, aided by two friends, but was later arrested in Virginia.
The Associated Press reports that Cavalcante is currently wanted in connection to a 2017 murder in Brazil and that authorities believe he came to the United States illegally after first fleeing to Puerto Rico to escape that charge. According to the Chester County district attorney’s office, authorities believe Brandao discovered that there was an open warrant against Cavalcante in Brazil, and threatened to turn him in to law enforcement.
He is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 120 pounds, and fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish. The U.S. Marshals Service as well as local police are offering a joint $20,000 reward for any information that results in his capture.
Sarah Brandao, Deborah’s sister, told CNN that Cavalcante was kind to Deborah at first during their year and a half long relationship, but that his behavior would eventually change for the worse.
“She kept saying that he was extremely jealous – that when he drank, he became a different person; that he kept going through her cell phone,” she told the outlet in Portuguese.
Since his escape, Brandao said that she’s been in fear that Cavalcante might come after her and her family. She has also been caring for Deborah’s two children since her murder.
“I haven’t slept for many days. Since (his escape) I have been waking up with fright at night. I nap and wake up with fright,” she said.
How did he escape?
On Wednesday, authorities laid out a timeline for Cavalcante’s escape and revealed footage from the day in question. Cavalcante’s cell block entered the prison yard at 8:33am on the morning of the 31st. A few minutes later, he made his move.
“At 8:51am, Cavalcante escapes from the prison having crab walked up a wall, pushed his way through the razor wire, run across the roof, scaled another fence and pushed his way through more razor wire,” said Howard Holland, the acting warden of the prison.
Cavalcante was discovered missing after his block returned inside and he was nowhere to be found after additional counts were done.
NBC10, a local affiliate, reported that another prisoner, Igor Bolte, escaped the same prison in May, but was caught minutes later. Bolte is believed to have used a similar method in his own escape, climbing up to a roof while on-duty police were distracted by an argument as inmates played basketball. Bolte also fled the jail a previous time back in 2019.
On Wednesday, authorities confirmed that Cavalcante used the same route as Bolte despite the addition of razor wire following Bolte’s escape in order to prevent future attempts.
In Bolte’s May escape, he was spotted by a watchtower guard who alerted prison employees. However, according to the New York Times, the guard on duty in the tower when Cavalcante broke out didn’t notice the inmate fleeing. That guard, a 20-year veteran of the prison, was placed on administrative leave, but a source tells the Inquirer that he’s since been fired.
Have there been any sightings?
Cavalcante has been spotted several times since his escape, all in locations near the prison. Authorities believe that Cavalcante is using heavily wooded areas to evade capture. He was seen on surveillance cameras on Saturday carrying a backpack a mile and a half away from the prison, according to 6ABC.
On Monday evening, Cavalcante was seen on a trail camera near Longwood Gardens, a botanical garden in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which is further south. As a result, the popular attraction was closed Wednesday as law enforcement expanded its search. The Inquirer reports that there was a confirmed sighting of Cavalcante Tuesday evening in a creek bed by a resident in Pennsbury Township, prompting authorities to shift the search radius has shifted east as a result.
Authorities reported during a Thursday briefing that Cavalcante was spotted once again near Longwood Gardens and that a search of that area was ongoing. Later Thursday evening, there was another sighting of Cavalcante in the vicinity of the garden, forcing a temporary lockdown and an eventual evacuation of the people who remained at the site. Longwood Gardens has since announced that it will be closed to the public “until further notice” due to the ongoing search.
Ryan Drummond, who lives in the township, told the Times that he is “100 percent’ certain that he encountered Cavalcante Friday evening after hearing a sound in his kitchen and finding a pair of doors cracked open. He saw a man carrying a bag leave his house and later discovered fruit he just purchased missing. When police arrived, there was no one to be found.
During a Monday press conference, Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police advised those living within the search area to “avoid the wooded area or anything outside of the immediate area around their homes” as it’s believed Cavalcante might still be in the vicinity of the three mile search radius.
“We’re certainly not trying to lock anyone down, but we want to keep residents as safe as possible while we thoroughly search that area,” Bivens said.
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and the Kennett Consolidated School District both announced that schools will be closed on Wednesday because of the search.
The New York Times reports that law enforcement is also playing a recording from Cavalcante’s mother in Portuguese, pleading with her son to turn himself in.
Chester County district attorney Deborah Ryan advised residents to be vigilant as long as Cavalcante remains on the run.
“Lock your doors. Lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual,” she said during a press conference over the weekend.
