KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Two weeks since convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison, he is back in the custody of authorities.
Sources say Cavalcante was apprehended Wednesday morning in the heavily wooded area of South Coventry Township near a John Deere appliances store on Route 100, just south of Route 23. He was unarmed.
Sources say he was discovered by a K-9 deep in the brush behind the business.
A disheveled Cavalcante was captured wearing a muddy Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt. He is being taken to the Pennsylvania State Police Avondale barracks.
A full-scale manhunt — using thermal imaging, drones, helicopters, dogs, and even the recorded voice of Cavalcante’s mother — had Chester County residents on high alert since his escape on Aug. 31.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, Chester County Commissioners thanked law enforcement for bringing this "nightmare" to an end. They say the prison has “made some immediate changes to bolster security” and “brought in security contractors to make permanent changes to the exercise yards, and are reviewing and — where needed — changing procedures for both security measures and communication to residents who live close to the prison.”
The 34-year-old broke out of the Chester County jail while awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a life sentence for fatally stabbing an ex-girlfriend in 2021. Prosecutors say he killed her to stop her from telling police that he was wanted in a slaying in Brazil, his home country.
Prosecutors there, in Tocantins state, said Cavalcante is accused of “double qualified homicide” in the 2017 killing of Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in the municipality of Figueiropolis, over a debt the victim owed him for repairing a vehicle.
Video released on Sept. 6 shows how Cavalcante escaped. He walked to the entrance of the prison's exercise yard and crab-walked up the wall and onto the roof. Officials said he then jumped down and made his way over the fence through a couple layers of razor wire.
Last week, the prison guard on duty in the watchtower while Cavalcante escaped was fired.
Manhunt timeline
The search for Cavalcante first started in lower Chester County, near Longwood Gardens and not far from the prison in West Chester. However, he broke containment from that heavily manned search perimeter and stole a van from Baily's Dairy farm in West Chester over the weekend. The keys were in the car.
He drove about 30 miles north to a former coworker's home in East Pikeland Township, but that person wasn't home at the time. Images from that resident's doorbell camera showed Cavalcante with his beard shaved off and in different clothing.
Police said he was familar with the area because he used to live there.
The most recent sightings were more alarming, as Cavalcante broke into a resident's garage and stole a gun. Around 10 p.m. Monday, a resident on Coventryville Road alerted police that a man entered his garage while he was home and grabbed a .22-caliber rifle, which has a scope and flashlight on it. The homeowner drew his own pistol and fired at Cavalcante, but he got away with the weapon and ammunition. Cavalcante was likely unharmed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.