Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who stabbed his ex-partner Deborah Brandao to death in front of her children and escaped from prison, has been captured.
Danelo Cavalcante was reported missing after he escaped a Pennsylvania county prison, authorities confirmed.
Cavalcante was convicted last month for killing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao in front of her two kids in 2021.
On August 31, 2023, he was announced missing and a serious manhunt was immediately launched.
When he was on the run, about 500 officers, including members of the Pennsylvania State Police, FBI, US Marshalls, and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were searching for the fugitive around the clock.
After almost two weeks on the run, Cavalcante was rearrested on Wednesday, September 13. But who is the fugitive and which prison did he escape from?
Who is Danelo Cavalcante?
Danelo Cavalcante is a 34-year-old Brazilian national who was given life in prison for stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao to death in April 2021 in front of her two young children, who were aged four and seven at the time of the murder.
The monster reportedly stabbed Brandao 38 times during the sickening slaying.
Cavalcante is also wanted in Brazil for a separate killing that occurred in 2017.
Prosecutors believed he killed Brandao to stop her from telling police information about this murder.
Cavalcante came to the United States illegally from Puerto Rico after fleeing Brazil following the 2017 murder.
What was Danelo Cavalcante convicted of?
Danelo Cavalcante was convicted of first-degree murder.
The sentence was passed down after he brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao by repeatedly stabbing her in a frenzied attack.
The murder was committed in Schuylkill Townsip in April, 2021.
Deborah was 33 years old when she was murdered, leaving behind her two younger children.
How did Danelo Cavalcante escape?
Authorities did not immediately revealed how the criminal managed to escape Chester County Prison in West Chester, Pennsylvania Prison on Thursday morning, August 31, 2023, however, a footage of the incident was released on the internet.
He broke out of the county prison by crab-walking up a wall, scaling a barbed wire fence, and running across the prison roof without detection.
He was spotted on a residential surveillance camera about 1.5 miles from the jail he escaped from, according to the Chester County District Attorney.
Chilling CCTV footage showed Danelo Cavalcante walking through a wooded area near Chester County Prison, Pocopson Township, Pennsylvania, at around 1.40am on Saturday morning.
It was caught on a residential security camera and a witness reported they saw someone who fitted Cavalcante’s description.
He was wearing a white T-shirt and white sneakers.
His clothes appeared to be prison-issued and he was carrying a backpack.
The convict was later seen on cameras approximately 1.5miles from the prison.
Captain Robert Bailey said at a press conference that authorities are narrowing the scope of their search.
He explained: “We believe that he may be in a residential location that is comprised with hundreds of homes in a deeply wooded area at this time, but our search remains active.”
Authorities told reporters that police have responded to possible break-ins in the area and are searching residential homes near the county jail that Cavalcante escaped from.
At a news conference DA Ryan said: “Look in your basements, look around your areas, check your cars. Make sure that things are locked.”
She added: “There is no evidence at this time that anyone has helped to facilitate this escape, or is assisting him at this time.”
Acting Warden of Chester County Prison, Howard Holland, said an investigation is underway to establish who the escape happened, explaining: “Once we knew we had an issue with an inmate not being there, we immediately followed our protocols, locked down the prison, did what we call a special count to confirm there was only one person missing.”
How did Danelo Cavalcante get caught?
After 14 days of eluding capture, Danelo Cavalcante, 34 was arrested in a heavily wooded area on Wednesday morning.
Shortly after 8am, Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens said tactical teams moved in on an area where a heat source had been detected hours earlier.
“We had the element of surprise,” Bivens said, adding that Cavalcante did not know he was surrounded.
The heat source led authorities to a pile of wood logs at a John Deere store in South Coventry Township.
Cavalcante began “crawling through thick underbrush, taking his rifle with him as he went, Bivens disclosed.
A police dog was released to subdue him, and tactical teams moved in to make the arrest as Cavalcante tried to fight off the K-9 and escape.
A bloodied Cavalcante, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt and rugged boots, was pictured handcuffed from behind and surrounded by heavily armed Border Patrol Strike Force officials.
The clothes were cut off Cavalcante as he was mounted on the back of an armed Special Response Team vehicle.
He suffered a minor bite wound from the police dog, Bivens said.
Cavalcante will be transferred to a state correctional institute, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.