Danelo Cavalconte: What we know about the escaped Pennsylvania inmate

CNN
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The current prisoner The subject of a great manhunt Authorities say he stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in 2021 in front of their two young children after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison last week.

Danelo Souza Cavalcante, 34, who was convicted last month of the murder, sparked a manhunt involving hundreds of officers Thursday morning from the Chester County Jail about 30 miles west of Philadelphia.

Investigators believe he climbed onto the roof and fled, a law enforcement source told CNN.

The scope of the human hunt expanded tuesday Authorities south of the perimeter initially believed he was inside after he was spotted on trail camera footage in Chester County the morning after. Two school districts canceled classes In the middle of the search.

Cavalcante is a Brazilian native who is about 5 feet tall with long, curly black hair and brown eyes. have said. He is extremely dangerous and desperate to avoid capture, authorities have warned, and urged residents in areas near the prison to lock their doors, stay inside, check on each other and check their security cameras.

Cavalconte is also wanted in connection with a 2017 murder in Brazil US Marshals Service.

Officials provide $10,000 reward For information leading to his arrest.

Here’s what we know about him.

Solicitors say Cavalcante’s ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, was outside her home with her two children on April 18, 2021.

Cavalcante arrived, grabbed her by the hair, “threw her to the ground and stabbed her 38 times in every vital organ … until she bled to death,” according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. said In a Facebook post.

Brando’s 7- and 4-year-old children ran to neighbors for help and Cavalcante fled, the district attorney’s office said.

Court records show the 7-year-old girl told police Cavalcante told Brandão he was going to kill her when he started stabbing her.

He was arrested several hours later in Virginia, prosecutors said. District Attorney Deb Ryan said authorities believe she was trying to flee to Mexico with the intention of traveling to Brazil.

Schuylkill Township police were dispatched to the home at 4:17 p.m. the day of the killing and found Brandao on the floor with “multiple stab wounds to the chest,” the district attorney said. The office said.

A neighbor performed life-saving procedures while Brando waited for emergency medical services to arrive, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

She is 33 years old.

After the stabbing, Brando’s 7-year-old daughter told police that Cavalcante came to their home and “told them he was going to do something bad in their lives and pulled two knives out of a black bag behind his back.” A possible reason is confession.

Police wrote in the affidavit that the daughter said she was screaming and that Cavalconte threw a rock at her and hit her in the leg.

After running to a neighbor for help, the girl looked outside and saw Cavalconte driving away in a black car, documents state.

Brando’s sister, Sarah, said the two were best friends and that when she learned of Deborah’s murder, her “world fell apart.”

Sarah told CNN Cavalcante went from a friendly neighbor to a jealous boyfriend. Cavalcante and Deborah are both Brazilian and have been dating for about a year and a half, he said.

Deborah told her sister “he was good to her, he was good to his kids, he helped her,” but things changed over time, she said.

“He’s so jealous, he’s a different person when he drinks, he keeps looking at his cell phone,” Sarah said.

Brando filed a protection from abuse order against Cavalconte in December 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit. The warrant said he had a history of assaulting Brando and had previously pulled a knife on him.

“This is a senseless tragedy that has affected countless people through the defendant’s cold, calculated and cruel actions,” said Ryan, who led Cavalconte’s case. said Last month.

“Ms. Brando’s children are now left without a mother, and she will never have the opportunity to see her children grow up, finish school or start families of their own,” the district attorney said.

Brando’s daughter testified in the case and “helped her mother get justice,” the district attorney said said. The woman identified Cavalconte in a photograph shortly after the murder and told police, “That’s him, the one who killed my mother. Please arrest him and put him in jail,” the affidavit shows.

On August 16, 2023, Cavalconte was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of murder. District Collector’s Office. Days later, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the office said.

Cavalconte’s attorneys told jurors during the trial that he was enraged and “snapped” when he attacked Brando, and acted in the heat of emotion, a Chester County newspaper reported. Daily Local.

Sarah said she’s been living in fear since Cavalcante escaped from prison and worries he might come after her.

“I haven’t slept in days. Since then, I wake up at night with fear. I sleep and wake up scared,” she said.

Despite her fear, she hopes the police will catch him.

Authorities urged residents of Pocopson Township, next to the jail, to stay in their homes as guards continued their search over the weekend.

“Lock your doors. Lock your cars. He is still considered a very dangerous person,” District Attorney Ryan said Saturday News conference.

“People should be very cautious. … He killed someone. He allegedly killed another person. So people should take every possible precaution: lock your doors, keep an eye on your children and keep an eye on your neighbors and your friends,” Ryan had said a day earlier. “Everyone needs to be very cautious.”

Since his escape, there have been “multiple credible sightings” of him in an area in the township, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Tuesday morning. News conference.

Surveillance footage on Monday captured Cavalcante in Longwood Gardens, a popular tourist spot south of the area that authorities searched near the prison, prompting a change in the search area, Bivens said.

The fugitive appears to have gotten a few items, including a backpack, a “duffel-sling type bag” and a hooded sweatshirt, Bivens said.

Bivens added that residents in the area should be cautious, use caution and be aware of their surroundings.

“We ask them to lock their vehicles if they don’t do it regularly,” he added. “Pay attention to what’s going on, pay attention to your neighbors, pay attention to anything out of the ordinary there. … But really, what we’re looking for from people right now is awareness.”

“He’s clearly in escape mode, but he’s desperate,” Bivens said. “His history is that he’s a dangerous person. … If we find out he’s in a certain area, my recommendation is, ‘Stay in your homes.’