Danelo (often written Danilo) Cavalcante is a Brazilian-born convicted murderer who became widely known after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison in 2023 and triggering a high-profile two‑week manhunt in the United States.

Quick Scoop: Who he is

  • Full name: Danilo (Danelo) Souza Cavalcante, a Brazilian national who had been living in Pennsylvania.
  • Criminal status: Convicted of murdering his ex‑girlfriend in Pennsylvania and also wanted in Brazil for a separate killing.
  • Notoriety: Gained international attention after a dramatic prison escape and manhunt in late summer 2023.

Background and earlier allegations

  • Origins: He grew up in a poor rural area in northern Brazil, doing farm and labor work and spending significant time in forested areas.
  • 2017 Brazil case: Authorities in Tocantins state say he shot and killed a man in a dispute over a vehicle repair debt, then fled the scene and later the country.
  • Flight to the US: He left Brazil in early 2018, traveling via Puerto Rico and entering the United States illegally, eventually settling in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Murder in Pennsylvania

  • Victim: His ex‑girlfriend, Brazilian national Deborah BrandĂŁo, who had two young children.
  • Crime details: In April 2021, he stabbed her dozens of times in front of her children after she learned of the Brazilian warrant and threatened to tell authorities.
  • Conviction: In August 2023, a Pennsylvania jury found him guilty of first‑degree murder, and he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Prison escape and manhunt

  • Escape: On 31 August 2023, soon after his life sentence, he escaped from Chester County Prison by “crab‑walking” up a narrow corridor, pushing between walls, climbing over razor wire, and leaving the exercise yard—an incident captured on security video.
  • Time on the run: He remained at large for about two weeks, surviving largely on watermelons from local farms and creek water, moving mostly at night and stealing clothes and supplies.
  • Public impact: Schools closed, residents were urged to lock doors, and the search drew national and international media coverage and intense online forum and social media discussion.

Capture and current status

  • Capture: On 13 September 2023, a tactical team found him hiding in brush; a police dog subdued him when he tried to crawl away.
  • Sentencing for escape: In addition to his life sentence for murder, he faced multiple charges for crimes committed while on the run (burglary, trespass, theft) and later received an additional 15–30 years in prison for the escape‑related offenses.
  • Overall: He is now serving life without parole in a Pennsylvania state prison, plus added years for escape‑related crimes, while still wanted in Brazil for the earlier homicide case.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.