With the Man Who Killed Her Sister on the Loose, She's Terrified

It's been more than a week since Danelo Cavalcante escaped from a Pennsylvania prison, and the family of the woman he murdered is "terrified," says the Chester County district attorney. "They do have protection, and they are terrified. They haven't left their home," DA Deb Ryan told reporters Thursday, per NBC News. "They're barricaded inside and very concerned about their safety. We do have police details around them 24 hours a day, but I know they're very, very worried." Cavalcante fatally stabbed his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, in front of her children, then ages 7 and 4, in 2021. "I haven't slept for many days. Since (his escape) I have been waking up with fright at night. I nap and wake up with fright," Brandão's sister, who is taking care of her sister's children now, tells CNN.

Sarah Brandão says Cavalcante was her sister's neighbor in Chester County and was initially "nice" to her and her children, but after a year and a half together, he became jealous and threatening before the couple broke up. "I was desperate, desperate, very scared. I thought about my children, obviously," Sarah Brandão, who still lives in Chester County, says. There have been at least eight sightings of Cavalcante since his August 31 escape, the most recent on Thursday night, CNN reports. (More Pennsylvania stories.)