Escaped Murderer Spotted Again In Eastern PA Thursday, Police Say

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Fugitive Murderer Seen In Longwood Gardens Prompts Evacuation: Report

WEST CHESTER, PA —Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante was spotted again near Longwood Gardens just before noon Thursday, sparking a focused search, but he still remains at large, police said.

Cavalcante, 34, of Royersford, escaped on Aug. 31 from the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township.

During a daily press briefing, State Police Lt. Col George Bivens, who is spearheading the investigation, said Cavalcante is hiding in an eight-square mile area. A perimeter has been set up bounded by Routes 926 and 52, and Creek Road and Hillendale Road in southern Chester County.

Longwood Gardens was open to the public today because the garden staff was told the search had moved toward Creek Road, according to its website.

“We are keeping the pressure on,” Bivens said. “It’s important to keep the pressure on. He already murdered two people, one in Brazil and one here.”

Cavalcante spent a full week eluding police, hiding in wooded areas.

Bivens said the hunt for Cavalcante has been more difficult due to the excessive heat and massive brush in the areas where the fugitive is wandering around. He said a K-9 named "Loki" who had suffered from heat exhaustion Wednesday was feeling better today.

“We are not going anywhere until he is caught,” Bivens said.

The escape

Correctional officers did not see Cavalcante escape at 8:50 a.m. last Thursday by scaling two walls like Spider-Man to get to a roof above the exercise yard.

However, the escape was captured on a video surveillance camera, which showed Cavalcante bracing himself sideways to climb two walls with his hands and feet to reach the roof.

Cavalcante, a Brazilian man who speaks Portuguese and Spanish, and some English, escaped from the roof and was spotted just before 10 a.m. walking along Wawaset Road.

However, Cavalcante’s escape was not noticed until 50 minutes later when inmates returned to their cells for attendance, according to Acting Chester County Prison Warden Howard Holland.

Holland said that the prison is working on upgrading security in the wake of two recent escapes. Following the first escape in May Holland said, razor wire was installed in some areas. Holland said Cavalcante, however, was able to push past the wires and escape.

Cavalcante is 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. He has long, black curly hair and was wearing a backpack.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office is investigating Cavalcante’s escape from prison.

The Crime

Cavalcante was convicted on Aug. 16 of first-degree murder in the April 18, 2021 stabbing of Deborah Brandao in front of her children, ages 4 and 7, outside her home in the 300 block of Pawlings Road, Schuylkill Township.

During his trial, witnesses testified that Cavalcante stabbed the victim 38 times after learning that she was planning on telling Brazilian authorities where Cavalcante was living. Cavalcante was wanted by police in Brazil for a 2017 killing.

He was sentenced on Aug. 22 in the Chester County Court to life in prison after a jury deliberated for 15 minutes. On Thursday, Aug. 31, he was awaiting transfer to state prison to serve out his sentence.

The hunt for Cavalcante

State, federal, and local law enforcement authorities were notified and the manhunt began.

On Monday night, Sept. 4, police discovered that Cavalcante had slipped through a perimeter they had set up to contain him when Longwood Gardens staffers alerted police that the escapee had been spotted at night on remote trail cameras.

The locals remained on edge as the perimeter expanded to Longwood Gardens, about three miles from the prison, and deep into southern Chester County, which has a mixture of rural and suburban communities.