Police blast audio of escaped killer Danelo Souza Cavalcante’s mum during desperate manhunt

Danelo Souza Cavalcante, 34, who was serving a life sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend, made a break from Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania on Thursday, state troopers said.

He has since been spotted at least four times within a three kilometre radius of Pocopson Township, with local police responding to more than 100 tips from residents — including allegations of possible break-ins at residential homes, 6ABC reported, according to The NY Post.

The most recent sighting of Cavalcante was on Monday, with surveillance footage showing him walking on a trail in the woods.

Lt. Col. George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations for the Pennsylvania State Police, said the agency has taken over the lead role in the investigation, bringing in more technology and personnel to help with the manhunt, including playing a voice recording from his mother from a helicopter canvassing the area.

“One of the things that we have done is we’ve had the individual’s mother make a recording asking him to surrender peacefully,” Mr Bivens said, adding that the message was recorded in Cavalcante’s native Portuguese.

“It’s being broadcast in an effort to facilitate his peaceful surrender.”

Cavalcante was convicted on August 16 of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, 38 times in front of her two young children in 2021.

At the time, Mr Bivens said, there was an active warrant for his arrest for another alleged murder in his home country of Brazil in 2017.

He was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week, and was set to be transferred to a state correctional facility in four weeks, according to 6ABC.

But on Thursday morning, Cavalcante somehow managed to escape the Chester County Prison, with investigators saying they believed he was heading south.

Authorities are still trying to figure out how he was able to escape.

The murderer has since been seen several times in the area, still wearing his prison-issued pants and light-coloured T-shirt — though he was somehow able to acquire a dark backpack, prosecutors said.

One such possible sighting came from resident Ryan Drummond, who claims he saw Cavalcante inside his home around 11:45pm local time on Friday.

“I woke up my wife and said, ‘I think there might be someone downstairs,’” he recounted to 6ABC.

He said that after he heard some rustling, he rushed to the upstairs landing.

“What I decided to do was flip the switch three or four times, paused, and then he flipped a light switch from downstairs,” Mr Drummond claimed.

“This was the moment of ‘Oh my God, this guy is down there.’”

Mr Drummond said he then made sure his children were still asleep in bed, and watched as Cavalcante walked out of the kitchen.

“I saw him walk out of the kitchen, through our living room, opened up that door [and] walked out,” Mr Drummond told the local news outlet.

“He was wearing a white shirt, had a bag.”

Then on Saturday, the escaped murderer was seen on residential surveillance camera around 12:30am in the 1800 block of Lenape Road, about two kilometres from the prison, Mr Bivens said at the news conference on Monday.

A third sighting came on Sunday afternoon when a state trooper spotted Cavalcante from a distance and chased after him, Mr Bivens said, but the trooper was unable to capture the fugitive due to the terrain and other obstacles.

According to Mr Bivens, Cavalcante looked a little worn and tired during the “very brief sighting.”

Around 6pm on Monday, authorities received another report of a possible sighting of Cavalcante — but he was nowhere to be found when police arrived.

And early Tuesday, police officers in full tactical gear were seen speeding out of the area near Route 926 and Route 52, after he was seen on a trail camera in Longwood Gardens at 10:33pm the night before, 6ABC reported.

“We will continue this search, we will continue a hard search,” Bivens said at a separate news conference Tuesday morning.

“He is a bad guy, he needs to be in custody and we will catch him.”

Mr Bivens also said he believes Cavalcante will “slip up,” noting: “We’re making him move, and that’s a good thing.”

Mr Bivens noted that his team recognises it is stressful for the local community, adding his assurances the state and local police, in concert with federal authorities, are working to bring the manhunt to a conclusion as soon as possible.

Prosecutors are also urging residents to remain indoors and lock their vehicles, as well as review any surveillance footage for possible sightings of Cavalcante.

“Danelo Cavalcante is considered an extremely dangerous man,” the notice from the DA’s office says. “Please remain vigilant in assisting with this search.

“If you see this individual, do not approach him. Call 911 immediately.”

It remains unclear how Cavalcante entered the US, as immigration officials told Fox News Digital he was not “inspected or admitted by a US immigration official.”

“After his arrest in the United States, ICE became aware of his unlawful presence, and an ICE detainer was lodged against Souza Cavalcante,” an agency spokesperson said.

“ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) from the ERO Philadelphia Field Office are supporting local, state and federal partners with the search for Souza Cavalcante.”

Pennsylvania police and the US Marshals Service are offering a US$10,000 (A$15600) reward for Cavalcante.

– With The NY Post