Daniela Hernandez: Friend of escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante’s ex-girlfriend warns he can take hostages as search enters day 10
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Daniela Hernandez, a close friend and a "motherly figure" to Danelo Cavalcante's ex-girlfriend, the convict who escaped Chester County prison in Philadelphia on August 31, is praying he gets caught soon, given his violent past.
Hernandez was not just a friend and a motherly figure for Deborah Brandao, 30, whom the convicted murderer stabbed 38 times in front of their children, but she also met Cavalcante several times, News Nation reported.
How dangerous is Danelo Cavalcante?
Hernandez told the outlet that the police should consider taking every precaution while trying to catch him as she says Cavalcante is a “violent” and “dangerous” man.
“I think that if he does have an opportunity to get a knife or something and someone is around that he can use as a hostage, he will try to,” Hernandez said.
She added, “I do think that he may be very aggressive or dangerous if (police) pick him up the wrong way.”
How did Danelo Cavalcante escape from Chester County prison?
Cavalcante, 34, escaped awaiting transfer to state prison, a month after receiving a life sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend from Chester County Prison on August 31.
He was captured on surveillance cameras at least eight times with one witness claiming he was at his home on Friday night of September 1.
The authorities, who had initially refused to share the details of how he escaped, have now said that Cavalcante escaped by scaling a wall, clambering over razor wire, and jumping from a roof.
The video footage of the incident has also been shared. Cavalcante managed even as the correction officer was on duty in the tower. However, Cavalcante still managed to slip through.
The unnamed corrections officer who is said to be a veteran at the facility for 18 years was fired on Thursday, officials confirmed.
Why did Danelo Cavalcante kill his ex-girlfriend?
The convict reportedly killed her to prevent her from getting to the authorities and sharing information about his 2017 killing in Brazil for which he was wanted.
Before killing his girlfriend, Cavalcante bit her lips on one instance and the bite was so gruesome that she bled profusely. It was after this incident she got to know about his crime.
Hernandez said she had tried to use that information to "protect herself."
But, "more than anything, she was just trying to tell him ‘Don’t do anything to me because otherwise I’m going to go to the police.'” Hernandez said.
But, “he only used that against her, to the point where the day he murdered her, he said, ‘If you rat on me, I’m going to kill you’ and he did.”
How is Danelo Cavalcante able to escape arrest?
It was all due to him probably growing up in the woods. Hernandez said, adding, "I think he grew up in the woods."
She added, "And I think that he probably can stay several days as he is right now, hiding during the day and then walking at night time.”
Hernandez said. “I’m praying he gets caught really soon.”
She said she was "not really surprised" about him getting escaped but rather it was him who may have been surprised for "not being seen."