Escaped Murderer Still on the Loose in US, Sightings Confirmed
Police on Saturday reported two more confirmed sightings of an escaped murderer on the run for more than a week in southeast Pennsylvania amid a search by hundreds of law enforcement officers.
Danelo Souza Cavalcante, 34, escaped from the Chester County Prison while awaiting transfer to state prison on Aug. 31 after being sentenced to life for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in 2021.
Prosecutors say he wanted to stop her from telling police that he’s wanted in a killing in his home country of Brazil.
Authorities, who have described Cavalcante as extremely dangerous, didn’t release details about the sightings but said they occurred Friday within the search area around the now-closed Longwood Gardens botanical garden in East Marlborough Township, where the fugitive has been spotted several times.
Authorities believe Cavalcante, spotted almost a dozen times since his escape, has managed to obtain clothing and other supplies.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Friday that about 400 personnel were taking part in the search of the southeastern Philadelphia suburbs, farmland and the vast botanical garden, including tactical teams in full combat gear, tracking dogs, and officers on horseback as well as aircraft.
Longwood Gardens, closed indefinitely after the sightings, sprawls across nearly 200 acres, with paths winding through gardens, an outdoor theater, ponds, fountains and meadows, and structures including indoor gardens, treehouses and a restaurant.
Officials on Friday announced the firing of the prison tower guard on duty when Cavalcante scaled a wall, climbed over razor wire, ran across a roof and jumped to the ground. His escape went undetected for more than an hour until guards took a headcount.
The guard, a corrections officer for 18 years who was put on administrative leave after the escape, also had his personal cellphone on him at the time, a violation of jail protocol, county spokeswoman Michelle Bjork said.
There’s now a $20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Cavalcante, whose escape has attracted international attention and become big news in Brazil. The main newspaper in Rio de Janeiro ran a lengthy story on Wednesday with the headline “Dangerous hide-and-seek.”
Prosecutors in Tocantins state have confirmed that a criminal case attributes “double qualified homicide to the defendant Danilo Souza Cavalcante.”
Authorities allege that Cavalcante killed Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in 2017 in Figueirópolis over a debt the victim owed him.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
