Danelo Cavalcante, convicted of killing girlfriend Deborah Brandao in Pennsylvania, and sought by Brazil, escapes prison

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — A man convicted this month of fatally stabbing his girlfriend escaped Thursday from a suburban Philadelphia prison and prosecutors say he is also wanted in his native Brazil in a separate slaying.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, eluded guards at the Chester County Prison in West Chester before 9 a.m., and was seen nearly an hour later walking on a road near the prison, authorities said.

A jury took just 15 minutes to convict Cavalcante of killing Deborah Brandao, his girlfriend of two years, in front of her children at her home in Schuylkill Township in April 2021. Prosecutors said he was angry that she planned to disclose the charges in Brazil. They stem from a 2017 slaying according to Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan.

Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison Aug. 22 and was awaiting a transfer to state prison in Pennsylvania.

Authorities described him as 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and 120 pounds (54 kilograms). He has curly black hair and a closely-cropped beard and mustache, according to a photo the county released.

Residents within a 6-mile (10-kilometer) radius of the prison have been notified, Ryan said.