(VitalNews.org) – A multi-agency search is underway for a violent murderer who stabbed his girlfriend to death in front of her young children. Brazilian national Danelo Cavalcante, 34, killed Deborah Brandão, 33, in 2021 in front of her 4-year-old and 7-year-old children after she had filed a protective order against him. Her children are now being raised by Deborah’s sister, Sarah, and Sarah’s husband.
Sarah, who also has a young daughter, told reporters that Cavalcante started as a friendly and helpful neighbor to Brandão, gaining her trust as their friendship grew. They became a couple, but Brandão found that he began to behave more and more jealously. She confided in her sister that Cavalcante’s behavior was especially unpleasant when he drank, and that he would threaten her with violence should he ever find evidence of an affair.
Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August 2023 and was sent to Chester County prison, Pennsylvania. Just a fortnight after his incarceration, however, he managed to scale the walls of the prison and escape. Since fleeing prison on Thursday, August 31, he has been spotted on at least five occasions, including being captured on a trail camera and even being seen in person stealing food from a house in the Pocopson township.
Authorities have warned residents in the nearby area to keep their doors locked and remain in their homes for their own safety. They have described Cavalcante as being desperate and highly dangerous. Police officers have been combing the area with dogs, helicopters, and drones. They have even broadcast a message recorded by his mother in his native tongue, Portuguese, begging him to turn himself in.
Not only is Cavalcante convicted of Deborah Brandão’s murder, but he is also wanted in connection with a murder in Brazil in 2017. Prosecutors say that Brandão’s discovery of his alleged criminal activity may have motivated him to kill her in order to prevent her from telling authorities about his fugitive status.
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