The Pennsylvania manhunt for convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante was widened, while local schools in the area were shut down on Tuesday after the suspect was spotted on trail camera footage breaking past a police perimeter.
The 34-year-old Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, and during the six-day search to locate him, multiple sightings have been reported with law enforcement setting up a two-mile perimeter around a wooded area where he was believed to be holed up. Officials later broadcast a message from the killer’s mother, who urged her son to surrender.
In an update on Tuesday, police said that Cavalcante had been caught on camera managing to sneak past the perimeter the night before. As a result, police expanded the police perimeter and shuttered the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester Count out of abundance of caution. George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations for the Pennsylvania State Police, said during a news conference Tuesday: “You’re dealing with someone who is desperate and doesn’t want to be caught. If he can find some shelter, if he can find some food, he’s going to take advantage of whatever he finds … He’s a bad guy. He needs to be in custody and we are determined to capture him.”
Cavalcante was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão, 31, to death in front of her two small children. Cavalcante is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil. Authorities haven’t disclosed how Cavalcante managed to escape, but said it occurred while he was awaiting transfer to state prison. Members of the public have been urged to secure their homes, outbuildings and vehicles while the suspect remains at large.
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