A manhunt is under way for a convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was conviected earlier this month of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death 38 times in front of her two young children in 2021, ABC News reported.

At the time, Cavalcante was wanted in his native Brazil for a 2017 murder.

Calvalcante escaped from the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township just before 9 a.m. Thursday, officials said. He was last seen on Wawaset Road at about 9:40 a.m., the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said, adding that he should be considered “extremely dangerous.”

“His depravity knows no bounds, and this is someone who has nothing to lose,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan told reporters.

After his August 16 conviction for murder, Cavalcante was sentenced to life without parole. He was set to be transferred to a state prison in four weeks.

“I don’t know what he’s capable of doing,” Ryan said. “If he’s already engaged in a murder in broad daylight in front of her two children, there’s no stopping him from doing anything more egregious.”

Acting Chester County Prison ward Howard Holland said how the inmate escaped is under investigation.

“Once we noticed we had an issue with an inmate not being there, we mainly followed our protocols — locked down the prison, did what we call a special count to confirm there was only one person missing,” he said.

Ryan said Cavalcante has family in the Phoenixville area and cautioned anyone who helps him will be prosecuted.

Cavalcante is described as being 5 foot tall and 120 pounds with black curly hair and brown eyes. He was seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray shorts and white sneakers. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and speaks some English.

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[Featured image: Danelo Cavalcante/Chester County District Attorney’s Office]