Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante is caught on camera creeping around Pennsylvania town after escaping Chester County Prison

A Pennsylvania man convicted of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend was allegedly seen on surveillance footage while on the run from police after escaping jail Saturday morning.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was found fleeing Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township, Pennsylvania around 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police believe they are closing in on him after he was seen on residential surveillance cameras around 1:43 a.m. Saturday morning on Route 52 in Pocopson.

Cavalcante walked through a wooded area before emerging from behind a small tree. It looks like he has a backpack and something else in his right hand.

Just two hours earlier, at 11:30 p.m. on Friday night, an attempted burglary was reported in the same town, which has a population of just 5,000.

A witness said they saw someone who resembled Cavalcante’s description, but police have not yet confirmed he was behind the theft attempt.

Cavalcante’s possible sighting came just two days after Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said the killer may have been trying to reach his native Brazil, where he attempted to flee while on the run from the original murder investigation.

“We have evidence to suggest he was captured in Virginia, but the ultimate goal was to get to Mexico and then to Brazil, his native country,” Ryan said. ABC news.

Ryan added on Saturday that officials are asking local residents to stay indoors and monitor the homes of anyone who may have left for Labor Day Weekend.

“We are asking residents in the Pocopson Township area to stay indoors, lock their doors, lock their cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual,” Ryan said.

West Chester University, a university about six miles from the prison, canceled classes on Friday just to be safe. The also nearby Brandywine Museum of Art remained open Saturday, but warned visitors not to walk the museum’s paths.

“The very last thing we want to see, other than someone getting hurt, is him breaking into someone’s house, taking a set of car keys, and then going to the races,” US Marshal Robert Clark added.

Ryan added that U.S. Marshals are working with local, state and other federal law enforcement agencies to find Cavalcante, police said. Philadelphia researcher.

Police have described Cavalcante as five feet tall and only 120 pounds, but warned the public to stay away from the “extremely dangerous” felon and call 911 if they have any information on his whereabouts.

Earlier this month, after only 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury returned a guilty verdict in the fatal 2021 stabbing of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, 33.

At the time, he was wanted for murder in his home country of Brazil, and prosecutors said he “silenced” her after she threatened to turn him in when she discovered his past.

Cavalcante was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with gray shorts and white sneakers, and was spotted following his escape down a side street about three miles from the prison.

Officials said earlier this week that police are searching “everywhere” for the convicted killer following his sudden disappearance, with Ryan saying it is currently unclear how he escaped.

His escape from prison came just weeks after he was found guilty of first-degree murder on August 16, and he was sentenced to life in prison on August 21 after two of his friends testified against him.

According to the investigator, he killed Brandao with a kitchen knife he had used earlier that day to cut meat in preparation for a barbecue.

Jurors heard he was angry with Brandao for threatening to report him to the police after learning he hacked into her Instagram account to spy on her, Ryan said.

At his trial, prosecutors alleged that the couple had an abusive relationship in which Cavalcante was “an angry and jealous boyfriend who had to be in control.”

On the day of the murder, Brandao was playing with her two children outside her home when she was confronted by the killer, who told her he would “do something bad with their lives.”

He then stabbed her more than 30 times in the upper body and neck, according to testimony heard at his trial, as her children screamed for him to stop.

While his lawyer said the stabbing was a result of their turbulent and toxic relationship, the jurors were unswayed and quickly returned a guilty verdict. He was sentenced to life in prison on August 22.

In a taped confession played during the trial, Cavalcante said there was “no reason” to kill Brandao, but prosecutors claimed the stabbing was the culmination of a long history of domestic violence.

Cavalcante was reportedly wanted in Brazil for the murder of a man who owed him money, and the 34-year-old is a former member of a gang. It is unclear if there is an active warrant for his arrest in Brazil or if he is still being sought for questioning.

After the stabbing, Cavalcante’s lawyer said he called his mother and sister to confess to the murder, before allegedly rounding up two of his friends, Francisco Lima and Michael Scahill.

The two men testified against him at his trial in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

They said Cavalcante drove to a company where the three rented parked construction trailers, where they admitted to helping the killer wash Brandao’s blood off his hands.

Scahill testified that they gave him clean clothes and told him to “disappear.” Neither he nor Lima called police, claiming they believed the couple were arguing and did not learn of Brandao’s death until later that day.

Cavalcante remained on the run for several hours before being arrested in Virginia by a state trooper.

Following his sentencing last week, Ryan said he was being held in a facility for 30 days so he could prepare an appeal before being transferred to a state prison. He has been held in prison without bail since his arrest in 2021, and it is the first prison break with 700 inmates in decades, police said. Delaware County daily times.

The last escape from the compound reportedly took place in the 1990s, when a prisoner hid in a laundry basket and snuck out in a van.

Prosecutors argued that Cavalcante abused his girlfriend for years, and the 34-year-old has a criminal record that includes assault.

In June 2020, police were reportedly called to an apartment the couple shared in Royersford, Upper Providence Township after reports of disturbances.

Brandao told police that Cavalcante flew into a rage during an argument and attacked her, biting her lip and drawing blood before chasing her and her children out of the house.

The incident prompted police to issue an assault warrant, and although Cavalcante’s sister told police he would turn himself in, he never did.

Brandao was subsequently issued a temporary protection order against Cavalcante for temporary protection against abuse after a second December 2020 incident in which he pursued her with a knife.