The manhunt for Danilo Cavalcante, 34, started on Aug. 31 after the convicted killer escaped from Chester County Prison in Philadelphia, PA .
Cavalcante was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, in front of her two children and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cavalcante’s escape was described as him “crab walking” up a narrow wall in the exercise yard. He then ran across a roof, scaled a fence and pushed his way through razor wire to freedom, according to the jail’s acting warden, Howard Holland. Afterwards he ran several miles where he resided in the woods eating watermelon and drinking creek water for the next two weeks.
After his capture, Cavalcante admitted to police he had planned on stealing a vehicle and crossing over the Canadian border. He aditionally admitted he had already stolen a rifle from an open garage a few days prior and had stolen a vehicle but had to abandon it because it didn’t have any gas left.
Although Cavalcante was taken back into custody, many have criticized Chester County authorities for failing to stop the escape. Another inmate, Igor Bolte, 30, had escaped in the exact same way Cavalcante had, leading many to believe Cavalcante was inspired by Bolte’s attempted escape on May 19 2023. Bolte was captured minutes after his escape, which some theorize may be why Chester County Prison refused to change anything following Bolte’s escape.
Community members have also critiqued the police department for their failure to find Cavalcante sooner. Over 500 law enforcement officers searched for the convict in the following two weeks. Drones, helicopters and dogs were all used in the search and still Cavalcante was able to sneak his way through the designated search perimeter three times.
Chester County Prison announced a redesign plan for the prison yard where both Bolte and Cavalcante escaped. According to an official statement released by Chester County Prison, the redesign plan includes a fully enclosed exercise yard with “18-foot-high masonry walls to replace fencing, and the removal of shed roofs that inmates could scale.”
Cavalcante is currently being held at a state prison outside Philadelphia, with his next hearing regarding his escape scheduled for Sept 27. No lawyer has spoken on his behalf.
