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archive.today • How Pennsylvania Killer Escaped - The New York Times

The footage shows the convict, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, performing the maneuver at 8:51 a.m. last Thursday. As the 5-foot-tall Mr. Cavalcante ascends, he disappears from the camera’s view in a matter of moments. After that, officials said, he pushed through razor wires — installed after the previous inmate scaled the same wall — before reaching the prison’s roof. He ran across the roof, scaled a fence, pushed his way through more razor wire, and has eluded the police ever since.

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The tower officer on duty had not seen or reported his movements, officials said, and they are investigating why. “We’ll be taking appropriate action against personnel based on the results of that investigation,” Mr. Holland said.

Mr. Cavalcante’s absence was discovered only during a regularly scheduled inmate count, conducted after the inmates moved indoors from the exercise yard. Initially, Mr. Holland said, there was speculation that Mr. Cavalcante was in a room where inmates speak with visitors via telephone.

By the time the prison was locked down, 9:50 a.m., and the public sirens had sounded, 10 a.m., Mr. Cavalcante had already been at large for about an hour.

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He was convicted on Aug. 16 of stabbing his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, nearly 40 times, killing her in front of her children. On Aug. 22, he was sentenced to life in prison.