The diminutive killer who is still at large after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison last month learned to elude authorities while hiding in the Brazilian wilderness to avoid another murder charge.
Danelo Cavalcante, 34, who crab-crawled two walls at the Chester County Jail to escape on Aug. 31, spent weeks in 2017 hiding in rural fields and ranches outside Figueirópolis, a small town in the center of Brazil.
The 5-foot-tall killer had been on the run after allegedly gunning down a friend in a dispute over car payments.
“Once you leave, what lies beyond are ranches and bushes. It is not difficult to disappear,” Figueirópolis priest Kelton Meneses told the New York Times.
Cavalcante, who was behind bars in the United States for fatally stabbing his girlfriend in 2021, had moved with his mother and brother to the Brazilian community about a year before he allegedly killed his friend for money.
Calvacante worked hard on a ranch and earned a reputation as a hard worker, but also someone he didn’t want to cross, residents said.
Danelo Cavalcante, 34, escaped from a Pennsylvania prison in August, a week after being sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend.AP
Cavalcante previously eluded Brazilian authorities for another murder he allegedly committed, hiding in the countryside around Figueirópolis, a small town where he and his family lived.G1 Globo
“He was reserved, he didn’t talk much,” said Evaldo Alves Feitosa. “He didn’t look you in the eye.”
Carlos Humberto Jacob, a friend of the Cavalcante victim, said: “He had a reputation for keeping many weapons at home.
“People used to say he had heavy weapons on the ranch.”
The friend Cavalcante is accused of killing in Brazil, Valter Júnior Moreira dos Reis, was a beloved member of the community.
Valter Júnior Moreira dos Reis was shot dead, allegedly by Cavalcante, in 2017 in a dispute over the killer’s car.
Their friendship foundered after Moreira reportedly damaged Cavalcante’s car while borrowing it and then failed to pay for the repairs, according to police.
The dispute escalated and Cavalcante began to threaten Moreira’s life.
“He kept saying, ‘I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you,’” Moreira’s sister told the Times.
One night in November 2017, Cavalcante allegedly confronted Moreira in the middle of the city and shot him dead, killing him with six shots.
Cavalcante shaved his facial hair to disguise himself while on the run in the United States, according to home security footage.via REUTERS
Cavalcante walked like a crab through a narrow passage to escape from prison in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in August.via REUTERS
Cavalcante then disappeared into the ranches among the area’s remote rural towns.
“When you’re used to the ranch, you know how to hide. He spent a lot of time in the bush,” Raimundo Campos dos Santos, a long-time resident of Figueirópolis, recalled about the search.
Cavalcante eventually arrived in the United States using a false identity, according to the Times.
In April 2021, Cavalcante was living in Pennsylvania when he stabbed his girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, 33, to death while their young children were present.
He escaped again after the brutal murder and was eventually captured in Virginia and locked up in the Chester County Prison.
Hundreds of heavily armed police have been searching for Cavalcante since he escaped from a Pennsylvania prison in August.
A week after being sentenced to life in prison in August, Cavalcante escaped and has been on the run ever since.
Police have said the diminutive criminal is “armed and extremely dangerous” after he was seen stealing a rifle from a Pennsylvania homeowner’s garage on Monday.
“We have always considered it a risk. “We absolutely know now that he has a gun,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference Tuesday. “He’s killed two people before.”
Hundreds of armed police and SWAT teams have been scouring the Pennsylvania countryside in search of Cavalcante, who has been seen on home security footage having changed his appearance with a clean-shaven face.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn