Escaped Murderer Danelo Cavalcante Captured, State Police Confirm

Danelo Cavalcante Captured: Drones, Dogs, And Dangerous Weather

EASTERN PA — Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante has been captured, Pennsylvania State Police announced.

He was caught in Chester County Wednesday morning after 13 days on the run, state police said. The exact circumstances and location of his capture are not yet known. A press conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company in Kennett Square.

Video from Fox29 showed Cavalcante in an Eagles sweatshirt being loaded into a prisoner transport. Other widely shared footage showed a large group of law enforcement officers posing for a photograph with Cavalcante before he was booked.

See here for full coverage of the search for Danelo Cavalcante.

Some 500 law enforcement officers had joined the search for Cavalcante this week near South Coventry Township. On Tuesday morning, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens had expressed confidence that they were closing in on Cavalcante, though said that the terrain and dense woods of the search area would cause some difficulties in completing the search.

At around 8 p.m. Tuesday night, authorities found a backpack belonging to Cavalcante. As of early Wednesday, he was believed to still be within the perimeter in South Coventry Township that had been announced early Tuesday, bounded by Routes 23 and 100, Fairview and Nantmeal roads, and Iron Bridge & County Park roads.

Cavalcante, a Brazilian national, was convicted on Aug. 16 of first-degree murder in the April 18, 2021 stabbing of his former girlfriend Deborah Brandao. He escaped from Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 and the search for him extended from the area of the prison, Longwood Gardens, and Phoenixville, to the woods in northern Chester County where he was finally captured.

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