On Thursday, August 31, 2023 convicted murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante successfully escaped from a suburban Philadelphia prison yard. He was caught by CCTV cameras climbing over a wall, running over razor wire, and jumping off a roof in an escape. After a search for Cavalcante, who had been on the run for over an hour, and a public siren, he was identified as a missing person. Howard Holland, the acting warden of Chester County Prison, did not disclose how the monitoring officer, whose name has not been released, wasn’t able to see Cavalcante jump from the rooftop and head south from the prisoners’ perimeter. Cavalcante has been sighted six times since his escape, the most recent time being Tuesday evening, when he was spotted in a residential neighborhood but quickly vanished into a wooded area.
Last month, Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ex-fiance, Deborah Bradshaw in 2021. Bradshaw was killed in front of her children. According to prosecutors, Cavalcante killed Deborah to prevent her from informing the police that he was involved in a 2017 killing in Brazil.
He was seen Monday night, September 4, in Long wood Gardens, where a trial surveillance video showed him walking around the garden grounds. Authorities moved the search area further south on Tuesday after determining that Cavalcante likely broke through the perimeter set up by hundreds of law enforcement officers, including heavily armed officers. Authorities have asked residents to lock their doors, check vacation homes, and be on the lookout for any missing cars, bikes, or means of transportation that Cavalcante could have used. Additionally, as a result, people who live near Chester County Prison are scared to leave their homes or even leave their residences unattended, as Cavalcante might break in and steal something. Schools near the area where Cavalcante escaped also shut down temporarily as it was unsafe for children to attend school while a murderer was on the run.
Numerous residents of the area have expressed their dismay and anger. “It’s unnerving to know that I can’t stand in my backyard with my dogs. My husband has to come outside with me, and, you know, it’s just an uneasy feeling,” said Danielle Lawrence of Pocopson, near the county’s jail and roughly 25 miles west of Philadelphia.”
“Everybody wants this to be over,” said Ryan Drummond, who said his frustration lies not with the search efforts but with the prison. “How can it be going on for almost a week at this point?”
Cavalcante has also been suspected to have broken into someone’s house. “The intruder left with a peach, an apple, maybe a few snap peas that he found on the kitchen counter,” Drummond said, “along with a white hat that he soon lost as he fled past a neighbor’s yard.”
After a 14-day manhunt spanning 22 miles, Cavalcante was captured early Wednesday in a densely wooded area of South Coventry Township. The search was led by local, state, and federal authorities.
