A man convicted this month of killing his girlfriend has escaped from a Pennsylvania prison

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) —

A man convicted this month of fatally stabbing his girlfriend in front of her children escaped Thursday from a suburban Philadelphia prison, authorities said.

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, they said.

A jury took just 15 minutes to convict Cavalcante of killing Deborah Brandao, his girlfriend of two years, at her home in Schuylkill Township in April 2021. Prosecutors said he was angry that she planned to disclose a murder charge he faced in his native Brazil.

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

Cavalcante is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a news release.

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.

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