At an unknown time and at an unknown location, Danelo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old citizen of Brazil, entered the United States unlawfully — without being inspected or admitted by a U.S. immigration official, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Sometime after that, in April 2021, prosecutors said he fatally stabbed his Brazilian girlfriend in front of her children in Pennsylvania, and he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
It was the second time he was accused of a horrific crime: He was fleeing a 2017 murder charge in Brazil when he entered the United States, the authorities said.
His escape from the Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania on Aug. 31 touched off a colossal manhunt, now entering its second week, and a host of questions about why Mr. Cavalcante had not been deported after his arrest in the United States — and whether, once captured, he would remain in a U.S. prison at taxpayers’ expense.
The case highlights an issue the criminal justice system has long confronted: the question of what happens when crimes are committed by undocumented immigrants, who studies show are much less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens.
Persons:
Danelo Souza Cavalcante, Cavalcante
Organizations:
Department of Homeland Security, Prison
Locations:
Brazil, United States, Pennsylvania, Chester, U.S