Close friend of escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante’s murdered ex-girlfriend warns that dangerous fugitive may try to use Pennsylvania residents as HOSTAGES – as frantic manhunt enters 10th day

The close friend of the slain ex-girlfriend of escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante is warning that he could try to use Pennsylvania residents as hostages as the frantic manhunt enters its tenth day.

Daniela Hernandez, who considered herself a mother figure to the slain ex, spoke to Chris Cuomo on News Nation on Friday and revealed that Cavalcante is a “violent” and “dangerous” man. She claimed that if he “has the opportunity to pick up a knife and there is someone around who he can use as a hostage, he will try.”

Cavalcante, 34, was serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Debora Brandão, a mother of two, whom he stabbed to death more than 30 times in front of her children in 2021.

The fugitive is seen on an outdoor surveillance camera looking at the camera before the ‘crab’ walks between two walls, scales a fence and jumps over barbed wire during the daring escape that took place in broad daylight from the Chester County Jail in August 31.

Hernandez told Cuomo she “wasn’t surprised” Cavalcante was able to escape, saying he evaded police for so long because he “grew up in the woods.”

She added: “I think he was probably surprised that he got out without being seen. But I wasn’t surprised when I saw him climbing the wall like that.’

But also said police should be careful during the hunt. “I do think he could be very aggressive or dangerous if (police) catch him wrong.”

As the search for Cavalcante intensifies, Hernandez believes the inmate is hiding during the day and walking around at night.

She described Cavalcante whom she had met as ‘very quiet and shy,” who helped his ex-girlfriend with her finances, but as soon as he started drinking he became violent.

She talked about two previous incidents of domestic violence against him and how angry he was towards the woman, whom she considered a daughter.

“He was violent toward Debora,” she said.

In one incident, she revealed that he bit her lip so hard and she bled a lot and ran to the neighbors.

The young mother tried to file a restraining order against him, but the case was dismissed because she could not make it to court that day due to bad weather, Hernandez told Cuomo.

When Brandao learned that her ex, a Brazilian citizen, had killed someone in Brazil and was wanted for that murder in 2017, she became more afraid.

Prosecutors believe this was the motive for the murder.

“She was trying to use that (information) mainly to protect herself, she was just trying to tell him, ‘Don’t do anything to me or I’m going to the police,’” Hernandez said.

“He just used that against her, to the point where the day he killed her he said, ‘If you betray me, I’m going to kill you,’ and he did.”

Authorities believe Cavalcante tried to return to Brazil after the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He was initially captured in Virginia, the news outlet reported.

Before his escape, he was awaiting a transfer to another state prison.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania prison guard who did not see or report the escape was fired. Prison officials told CNN that the corrections officer was an 18-year veteran of the prison.

Hundreds of officers have been deployed and are involved in the massive manhunt as the search for the fugitive intensifies.

Helicopters, drones and dogs are being executed in ground and air searches as authorities face extreme heat, high humidity and difficult landscapes.

A search dog involved in the investigation required medical treatment because it suffered from 90-degree heat.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said Friday that they “brought in more people last night, with some additional help from other agencies, from our own agency.”

“We have somewhere north of 350, almost 400 people working on this right now.”

Since his escape, Cavalcante has been spotted in the area at least eight times in the past nine days, with police now investigating whether he is linked to a burglary five miles from the Chester County Jail.

The burglary suspect was described as a shirtless man wearing dirty brown pants — and was last seen walking westbound from Route 1, according to PHL17News.

Bivens said, “He’s going to make a mistake sooner or later and we’re going to be there to catch him.”

Police have warned local residents that Cavalcante is extremely dangerous and urged them to lock their doors. Authorities have now increased the reward for information to $20,000.

Several schools closed and terrified residents remained barricaded in their homes.

On Friday, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and Kennett Consolidated School District canceled classes and remain in contact with authorities.

Kennett Consolidated School District said in a statement, “We were informed by law enforcement early this morning that the search situation has evolved and out of an abundance of caution, schools and offices will be closed today.”

The first sighting of Cavalcante occurred when he was spotted at 1:43 a.m. on September 2 on the 1800 block of Lenape Road in Pocopson Township, about 1.5 miles from the Chester County Prison.

He was then later seen on surveillance video in the early hours of September 2, wearing a white T-shirt and white sneakers with a backpack he had mysteriously acquired.

The criminal was reportedly seen again in the same area by a Pocopson Township resident at his home on Friday at 11:45 p.m. He “switched off the lights” at the owner before stealing some food and leaving.

He told ABC6: “What I decided to do was flip the switch three, four or five times, pause for a moment, and then he flipped a light switch from downstairs. This was the moment of, ‘Oh my God, this guy is down there.

‘I saw him walk out of the kitchen through our living room, open the door and walk out. He was wearing a white shirt and had a bag.

‘Peaches, apples and green peas were missing. We have a bunch of small steak knives and he could have grabbed one of those.”

A state trooper also spotted Cavalcante during the day on September 2 in the Pocopson Township area.

A trail camera recorded how Cavalcante walked through the forest twice within an hour late on Monday, September 4.

On Tuesday, September 5 overnight, there was another confirmed sighting of Cavalcante near Chandler Road in the Pennsbury area by a resident who saw the inmate in the creek bed near their home.

The escaped convict was then spotted near Longwood Gardens around noon on September 7. He was seen running in a wooded area by a resident and Longwood Gardens was closed early as law enforcement officials searched for the inmate.

Police confirmed a new sighting of the criminal on the evening of Thursday, September 7, but did not provide details.

Now there may have been a ninth sighting of the escaped convict in connection with the burglary of a house in Kennett Square on the morning of Friday, September 8.

Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan said Thursday that the victim’s family members who live in the area are paralyzed with fear. She said they barricade themselves in their house, CNN reported.

‘They do have protection and they are terrified. They haven’t left their house,” Ryan said.

“We have police around them 24 hours a day, but I know they are very concerned.”