'Extremely dangerous' man escapes Pa. prison after getting life for murdering ex-girlfriend

A man recently convicted of murdering his former girlfriend in front of her two young children has escaped a Pennsylvania prison, officials said Thursday.

A manhunt was underway for 34-year-old Danelo Cavalcante, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week for stabbing 33-year-old Deborah Brandao to death in 2021 while her 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were present, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said. He was awaiting transfer to a state facility when he escaped.

Cavalcante escaped Chester County Prison outside Philadelphia just before 9 a.m. on Thursday and a search of the area was being conducted, the office said. Police and prison authorities deployed helicopters and dogs to locate Cavalcante, Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell said. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, grey shorts and white sneakers, Maxwell said.

“Danelo Cavalcante is considered an extremely dangerous man," District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a statement provided to USA TODAY.

Officials didn't say how Cavalcante escaped, but said he was last seen by an eye witness walking on Wawaset Road in nearby Pocopson Township almost an hour after his escape. The acting warden of the prison, Howard Holland, said Cavalcante "physically escaped," but said he didn't cut any fences to do so.

He's also wanted for a 2017 murder in his native Brazil, the district attorney's office said.

'Depravity knows no bounds': DA warns escapee is dangerous

Ryan told reporters Thursday that Cavalcante has "nothing to lose" and said he may be capable of more egregious crimes.

He had been in a relationship with Brandao for about a year and a half and "engaged in a horrific pattern of domestic violence," leading up to the murder, Ryan said. Cavalcante stabbed Brandao 38 times in broad daylight, she said.

"His depravity knows no bounds," she said.

It took a jury just 15 minutes to convict Cavalcante of killing Brandao. Prosecutors said he was angry she planned to disclose the murder charge he was facing in Brazil.

When authorities showed Brandao's daughter a photo of Cavalcante to identify, she said, "That’s him, that’s the guy that killed my mom... Please get him and put him in prison," the Pottstown Mercury reported in 2021.

Ryan also said officials are concerned Cavalcante may be helped by friends and family and warned they will also be prosecuted if that's the case. After the murder in April 2021, he was aided by others until he was apprehended in Virginia.

It's the second escape from Chester County Prison in a couple of months, officials said Thursday, though they wouldn't say whether the methods of escape were similar.