On the eve of the one-year anniversary of his escape from Chester County Prison, convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante was sentenced to an additional 15-30 years in prison. Those years will be added to the life sentence he received for the murder of his girlfriend.
Cavalcante, 35, was sentenced last August to life plus two-and-a-half to five years for the murder of his girlfriend Deborah Brandao. He stabbed her 38 times after she threatened to let people know he was wanted in his home country of Brazil for a murder there in 2017.
But nine days after the sentence, on Aug. 31, 2023, he escaped and remained at large until the morning of Sept. 13 when he was captured.
During those two weeks, he was on the lam, Cavalcante broke into two homes and stole food, clothes, a truck, and a rifle. He also fired at the man from whom he stole the weapon.
The Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, sentencing was conducted before Judge Allison Bell Royer. It was a negotiated settlement between Pennsylvania Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Phillips and attorney Lonny Fish representing the defendant. Charges included one count of escape, two counts of burglary, and one count of illegally possessing a firearm.
The burglary charges each carry a 10-20-year sentence, but will be served concurrently, as will the escape charge which carries a sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years. The firearms possession carries a five- to 10-year sentence and will be served consecutively.
Cavalcante, dressed in an orange Department of Corrections jumpsuit, listened to the proceedings with the help of a translator and said he agreed with the sentence, and that no one had forced or paid him to accept the plea.
“This is a 15-30-year sentence on top of a life sentence,” said the judge. “This is now closure day.”
Cavalcante was returned to the CSI Greene maximum security prison in Franklin Township to serve his sentence.
Following the hearing, Phillips said, “We believe this sentence of 15-30 years is the right balance between justice for the citizens of Chester County and the needs of the community itself.”
Fish agreed with Phillis that the negotiated plea was right and that the two lawyers were on the same page from the beginning.
“Our focus was to make sure that he could get the best defense so the citizens of this county could be assured of the finality of this event. That’s what my role was here. The deal of 15-30 in a vacuum is a good deal for him,” Fish said, adding that he could have gotten a lot more time had they gone to trial and lost.
He also said the additional time is significant, even though the added time would run concurrently with the life sentence..
“I’ve gotten people serving life out, so, the reality is if that life sentence gets vacated, then he’s going to do those 15-30 years,” he said.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
