Danelo Cavalcante reveals surviving on stolen watermelon for 13 days, says police almost stepped on him thrice
CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: Danelo Cavalcante, the 'brutally honest' murderer who escaped Chester County prison and eluded hundreds of investigators for 13 days, has revealed surviving on a stolen watermelon.
The 35-year-old who was captured on Wednesday also shared how he hid his poop to avoid getting tracked, besides plans to escape the country.
How did Danelo Cavalcante survive and hide from the police for 13 days?
Danelo Cavalcante told the police that soon after escaping the Chester County prison by crab-walking the wall, he was able to survive for days by eating watermelon.
He had stolen it from a nearby farm, Robert Clark, a supervisory deputy with the US Marshals Service said.
"He had found watermelons on a watermelon farm and he was living off watermelon," Clark told NBC News.
To avoid traces, he hid faecal matter, drank from the stream and moved in the night. "He was drinking from the stream, he was moving at night only," Clark said.
“He went so far as to hide his faecal matter so that law enforcement wouldn’t be able to determine the spots where he was bending down,” Clark said.
The deputy said that Cavalcante admitted, "There were times, at least three times, where law enforcement officers were almost stepping on him."
They had to saturate the area so that "he felt that he needed to move locations,” Clark said.
How did Danelo Cavalcante change his appearance?
Clark told News Nation that Cavalcante was "brutally honest" after he was caught.
After police asked him about how he changed his appearance, he revealed there was a single razor in the backpack he had stolen.
He used to shave off his beard to appear clean-shaven on the doorbell of an acquaintance's home.
The deputy said that police handset up a tactical parameter to nab him.
The goal was to cut off all his "resources and communications to the outside world," to stress the escapee and "make him make mistakes, make him move."
@USMS_Philly was proud to support the @PAStatePolice 2-week manhunt for Danelo Calvalcante. The U.S. Marshals Service provided investigative expertise and significant technical resources. Thank you to all the LE agencies and the community for supporting this operation. pic.twitter.com/QLfGMQUaIA
— U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia (@USMS_Philly) September 13, 2023
What was the purpose of Danelo Cavalcante stealing the rifle?
It was for the purpose of "endgame." Cavalcante told authorities his plan in the next 24 hours, had he not been arrested was to carjack somebody and head to either Canada or Puerto Rico.
"His end game was to carjack somebody, that’s why he needed to obtain a weapon, that’s why he held onto that rifle," Clark said.
He had felt the overwhelming presence of law enforcement and "decided to carjack somebody" to escape. The plan was to be executed in the next 24 hours.
"There wasn’t a better time for us to locate and apprehend him," Clark said.
Where is Danelo Cavalcante now?
Following his arrest on Wednesday which showed him bloodied and overpowered by the K9 in the woods with police encircled around, the convicted killer was booked at maximum security prison at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County on Wednesday.
Meet Yoda!
— JLR© (@JLRINVESTIGATES) September 13, 2023
The U.S. Border Patrol K9 Dog that captured Danelo Cavalcante.
How do I reach Yoda?
I want to send him doggy treats. pic.twitter.com/2nLsxfdEiE
He faces extra charges of breaking from the prison and eluding authorities for 13 days. The prosecutors are expected to bring further charges on Thursday.
A preliminary hearing has been set for September 27, as per court documents as the bail plea has also been denied.
The prison where Cavalcante is booked is described as a "state-of-the-art facility" by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
The $400 million prison, built in 2018, houses up to 3,830 prisoners within its 1.5-mile perimeter. About 1,200 staff members operate the facility.
SCI Phoenix is one of two state prisons in Pennsylvania that house inmates on death row, according to the Department of Corrections, the New York Post reported.