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SEE IT: Prison Officials Provide Details of Convicted Murderer’s Escape
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Reward for Danelo Cavalcante’s capture reaches $20,000.

Pennsylvania authorities released video showing how convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante escaped the Chester County prison.

Cavalcante, 34, was sentenced to life in prison in August for killing his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in 2021. He is also wanted in his native Brazil for an unrelated death in 2021, as CrimeOnline reported.

Authorities on Wednesday announced that the reward for Cavalcante’s capture had reached $20,000.

Last Thursday, just before 9 a.m., Cavalcante climbed a wall in the prison yard, with his feet on one wall and hands on another, the video shows.

Acting Warden Howard Holland said the convict got onto the roof, made his way through razor wire, scaled a fence, and pushed through more razor wire on his way out, WPVI reported.

Holland said a guard in an observation tower didn’t see the escape. The guard is on administrative leave while authorities investigate the circumstances of the escape.

“The actions of the tower officer present at the time of Cavalcante’s escape are a key part of our internal investigation. We will be taking appropriate action against personnel based on that investigation,” Holland said.

Holland provided a timeline of the escape:

  • 8:33 a.m.: Cavalcante’s cell block enters the exercise yard
  • 8:51 a.m.: Cavalcante climbs the wall to the roof
  • 9:35 a.m.: Cavalcante’s cell block returns to the unit
  • 9:45 a.m.: Officers on the block notify central control of a missing inmate
  • 9:48 a.m.: Officers inform central control that Cavalcante was missing. There was a belief he was in a phone visiting room but he was not there
  • 9:50 a.m.: The prison is locked down and a special count conducted
  • 10:01 a.m.: The public escape siren sounds and the 911 center is notified

State police said another sighting of Cavalcante happened Tuesday night in Pennsbury Township. Teams searched for several hours but were unable to locate him.

Danelo Cavalcante/Chester County District Attorney’s Office

Authorities are adjusting the search area based on sightings and notifying residents in the affected areas. They say dense forest in the area hampers searches.

Two school districts have been shut down this week because their school building are located in the search area. Some of the schools in the Unionsville-Chadds Ford and Kennett districts, those outside the search area, will reopen on Thursday. The schools that reopen will see an increased police presence.

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[Featured image: Chester County Prison via WPVI]