On Aug. 31, 2023, fear gripped the citizens of Chester County, Pennsylvania at the news that convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante had broken out of the County Prison and was now on the run. In a somewhat stunning display of athleticism, Cavalcante had scaled a wall and got onto the roof, allowing him to escape. In the days that followed, Cavalcante continued his rampage throughout the area, breaking into homes to steal clothes and essentials to help him continue this chase before he was ultimately caught on Sept. 13, which marked the end of his reign of terror over the people of Chester County and the surrounding areas.
Cavalcante had been previously convicted of first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, which meant he was punished by a life sentence that came with no parole because of Pennsylvania state laws.
According to Sarah Brandão, her sister told her that originally, Cavalcante was, “nice to her…nice to her children” and ultimately helped her feel less lonely. Eventually, he became jealous and abusive, in part due to his drinking, pushing her to the point of filing a protection from abuse order against him.
In her order of protection, Brandão claimed Cavalcante assaulted her, and the situation became so severe that he pulled out a knife on her. All of this eventually culminated on April 18, 2021, when Cavalcante went to Brandão’s house, violently pulling her hair and stabbing her 38 times in front of her two children.
Cavalcante’s motivation for the stabbing was unclear, but prosecutors believe he killed her because she had found out he was wanted in Brazil for a 2017 murder case and had threatened to report him to the appropriate authorities. All in all, it was obvious that this was a premeditated murder by a man who was no stranger to violence and force, which eventually led to his conviction and sentencing on Aug. 16, 2023.
About two weeks after his sentence, Cavalcante climbed onto a roof and scaled a fence to make his way out of prison, running into the Pocopson Township area to avoid capture. Interestingly, this same method was used by inmate Igor Bolte earlier this year, which may speak to the security of the facility where Cavalcante was locked up, although Bolte was captured minutes later.
After his escape, Cavalcante was spotted the very next day in the house of Ryan Drummond, one of the citizens of Pocopson Township. After noticing that a door had been left ajar at 11:30 pm, Drummond flickered the lights to alert Cavalcante of his presence, with which Cavalcante responded by flickering the lights back and walked out of the house as Drummond’s wife dialed 911. Many more sightings came up, as Cavalcante made his way around the area, traveling near creeks and trails to avoid surveillance while surviving off the food he stole and water from the creek. The police set up a perimeter to narrow down their efforts, but by Sept. 9, Cavalcante had managed to steal a van from a local dairy farm and drive up 20 miles north to East Pikeland Township. After two different sightings, the police were narrowly able to determine the type of vehicle he was in and the area he had driven to before he was able to jump ship to the northern part of Chester County.
At this point, Cavalcante had been on the run for nine days, and the local authorities were getting close to capturing him. To further protect himself, in the next few days, Cavalcante got rid of his jail shoes, which had been used to track him by a Border Patrol tactical team, and the sweatshirt he had been spotted in. He also broke into the garage of a resident of Coventry Road, stealing a .22 caliber rifle. After this incident, citizens were advised to be severely cautious, as Cavalcante was now, “armed and extremely dangerous.” By Sept. 13, the situation was getting dire for everyone involved. At midnight, a burglar alarm went off near Prizer Road, informing the authorities that Cavalcante was somewhere in that area. About an hour later, through the use of thermal imaging technology in an aircraft provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a signal was picked up at around Pennsylvania Route 100 and Prizer Road. The weather forced the aircraft to leave, but at 8 a.m., ground forces moved into the location where the heat signature was located. This forced Cavalcante to attempt an escape through thick underbrush, but he was ultimately foiled when the Border Patrol released a dog who was able to aggressively pin Cavalcante down. After about 13 days on the run, Cavalcante was finally brought back in, and all of Chester County could take a deep breath of fresh air. For Cavalcante, his capture means he will be taken to a state correctional facility to serve out his life sentence, but for the people of the surrounding area, this capture means they can finally be safe in their homes again, not afraid to sleep with both eyes closed.