Danelo Cavalcante, the notorious serial killer who had managed to escape from prison on August 31, was finally caught by law enforcement in an overnight operation.
Interestingly, the fugitive was captured while sporting an NFL team, Philadelphia Eagles shirt.
The pivotal moment in this manhunt took place when an alarm sounded shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
Equipped with a thermal imaging camera, an aircraft swiftly detected Cavalcante’s heat signature around 1 a.m., precisely locating him in an area concealed by dense forest.
Leading the charge was Lieutenant Colonel George Givens, who described the encounter as nothing short of tense:
“Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that occurred. He began to crawl through thick underbrush, clutching his rifle. Though he resisted, law enforcement personnel successfully took him into custody, and thankfully, no injuries were sustained.”
During his two weeks on the run, Cavalcante struck terror into the local community, breaking into homes for sustenance, undergoing significant changes in appearance, and even committing the theft of both a van and a rifle.
The 34-year-old Brazilian-born, Cavalcante had a sordid criminal history. He was accused of killing Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in Brazil in 2017 over a vehicle-repair debt.
However, he managed to evade Brazilian authorities and fled illegally to Puerto Rico, where a warrant for his arrest was issued in June 2018.
Upon reaching the United States, Cavalcante’s violence continued.
In 2021, he was convicted of brutally stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, to death in front of her children in Pennsylvania. Tragically, Brandao succumbed to her injuries in the hospital later that day, after her daughter managed to run to a neighbor’s house and call 911.
Prosecutors alleged that he wanted to prevent the victim from reporting his involvement in the Brazilian homicide case to the authorities.
Cavalcante was arrested in Virginia as he attempted to flee to Mexico, with the intention of ultimately returning to his native Brazil.
On August 16, a verdict was reached in the case of Cavalcante, and convicted of first-degree murder. The court handed down a life sentence.
However, it’s worth noting that Cavalcante’s legal troubles are not limited to this conviction, as an outstanding warrant in Brazil remains unresolved for a 2017 murder case.
