Danelo Souza Cavalcante was seen in the area of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, overnight between Sept. 9 and 10, 2023, authorities said. Formerly bearded, he was clean shaven. Authorities said he was also driving white 2020 Ford Transit van with the Pennsylvania license plate ZST 8818, damage to the left rear fender, and a refrigeration unit up top. There is evidence he is no longer in the Phoenixville area, authorities said. (Left image: Chester County District Attorney’s Office; center image: Pennsylvania State Police)
An escaped murderer has gone from bearded and on-foot to clean-shaven and driving a van, according to authorities in southeast Pennsylvania. He later abandoned the vehicle, they said. Officials claim he has been seeking help from former coworkers.
Danelo Souza Cavalcante was spotted in the northern Chester County area near the town of Phoenixville in the late evening and overnight hours, state police said Sunday morning.
“He changed his appearance,” police wrote in a Facebook post. “He is now clean shaven and was wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball style hat, green prison pants, and white shoes.”
Authorities said he stole and was driving a white 2020 Ford Transit van.
“Our delivery van was stolen last night between 7-10PM while we were still here working,” the vehicle owner, Baily’s Dairy of Pocopson Meadow Farm said Sunday. “It is believed that Cavalcante used it to flee the Pocopson area. We are still working with LE to help with the investigation. We really do not have any other information at this time, and are just as disappointed as everyone that he broke through the perimeter in Longwood. We appreciate the support of the community and continuing efforts of Law Enforcement.”
State police said later Sunday that there is evidence Cavalcante is no longer in the area of Phoenixville. They did not elaborate on his possible whereabouts.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens eventually told reporters that Cavalcante attempted to contact a coworker Saturday night, but that coworker was out for dinner with family. This person called cops after seeing the doorbell footage, which was released showing a clean shaven Cavalcante, Bivens said.
The fugitive then showed up at another former coworker’s home in the Phoenixville area, the lawman said.
That associate was not home, but a woman at the residence called a friend upon seeing Cavalcante. That friend arrived and called cops.
Bivens said Cavalcante had stolen the dairy van after the keys were left in the ignition. Authorities had been looking for the vehicle, but the fugitive abandoned it behind a bar.
Cavalcante’s appearance in the newly released pictures is quite the transformation from when authorities released trail and surveillance footage of a bearded Cavalcante, but investigators say it is the same man.
Danelo Souza Cavalcante was spotted on trail camera footage in Longwood Gardens from Sept. 4, 2023, authorities said. (Images: Chester County District Attorney’s Office)
Bivens voiced concern Cavalcante may steal another vehicle. He reiterated pleas for the public to security personal property and items to show the fugitive from getting supplies.
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There is a $20,000 leading to the convicted killer’s arrest.
Chester County is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, with Phoenixville being about 27 miles northwest of the city. It is by Delaware as well as Maryland to the south and New Jersey to the east.
Prosecutors said Cavalcante landed at the Chester County Prison for murdering his his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, 33, on April 18, 2021, in Schuylkill Township in front of her two children, a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old. The kids ran for help as the killer stabbed their mother 38 times. Cavalcante struck the heart, kidney, lungs and liver.
Investigators determined that Cavalcante had physical abused Brandão before and threatened to kill her. The motive for this homicide was that Brandão had learned that Cavalcante faced an open warrant in Brazil for another murder, and she discussed going to cops about it.
Brandão’s sister, Sarah Brandão, said the relationship started positively with Cavalcante being a good neighbor and appeared kind, according to CNN in a Thursday report. But he ended up being violently jealous and threatening Deborah. According to Sarah, Deborah said that Cavalcante became a different person when drinking and threatened to “do the worst” to her if Deborah ever cheated.
“The defendant committed the most heinous crime imaginable by taking another human life,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said at the time of the sentencing. “Not only did he butcher Deborah Brandão to death with 38 stab wounds on virtually every vital organ, he did this in front of her two young children who will have to live with that horrific trauma for the rest of their lives. We are very grateful to everyone who assisted with this case including our outstanding Chester County Detectives, Schuylkill Township Police Department, our prosecutors, and crime victim advocate for their persistence in seeking justice for Ms. Brandão and her family.”
Cavalcante was sentenced last month to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but he did not stick around long. Video shows him climbing up the walls of the exercise yard of the prison on Aug. 31.
Now Sarah is worried that the fugitive could come after her; she lives in Chester County, and she is now taking care of her niece and nephew in addition to her own daughter.
Authorities ask that anyone with information to call 911 or the tip line at 717-562-2987.
Danelo Souza Cavalcante was seen in the area of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, overnight between Sept. 9 and 10, 2023, authorities said. Formerly bearded, he was clean shaven. Investigators say there is evidence he is no longer in the area. (Images: Pennsylvania State Police)
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