A convicted murderer, Danelo Cavalcante escaped from a Pennsylvania prison on August 31st. He was convicted of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in July after brutally stabbing 38 times his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, in front of her two children because she threatened to report him to the police. This was not even his first offense; he was wanted in Brazil for another homicide back in 2017. Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison, around thirty miles west of Philadelphia by “crab walking” up two parallel walls until he reached the roof where he was easily able to escape. 

As soon as his escape was made public, a huge manhunt began. The tower guard on duty, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Cavalcante, was fired because of an inaccurate headcount, allowing Cavalcante’s escape to go unnoticed for more than an hour. 

During the 2 week-long manhunt he was spotted several times, first in a civilian’s house close to the prison the day after his escape. After the owner of the house made Cavalcante aware he was being watched, he fled the home. On Monday, September 11th, he broke into a man’s house and stole a .22 caliber rifle. The owner of the house drew a pistol and fired at Cavalcante as he was fleeing but missed. 

Fortunately, the killer would be found before he could do any harm with the rifle. On September 13th, authorities tracked him down using thermal heat technology in an aircraft. Once they found him, they sent a tactical unit dog to pin him down. After the dog had done its job, the police were able to apprehend the fugitive without trouble. Cavalcante made it out unscathed, besides the small dog bite he suffered. Now that he is in custody, he will be sent to a local prison to carry out the rest of his life sentence.