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Footage has been released showing the moment a convicted murderer escaped from prison in Pennsylvania. Due to the almost cartoonish nature of the escape, the video was quick to spur numerous jokes on social media, despite the seriousness of the conviction against the inmate.
The individual in question, identified as Danelo Cavalcante, is still on the lam at the time of this writing. According to Lt. Col. George Bevins of the Pennsylvania State Police, Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on Aug. 31, spurring a multi-agency response that remains in progress.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the aforementioned footage was debuted for attending reporters. Additionally, Bevins and others fielded questions. Breaking down the timeline of Cavalcante’s escape, Howard Holland—currently serving as acting warden of Chester County Prison—said it began with the arrival of the inmate’s block at the exercise yard at 8:33 a.m. on Aug. 31.
Less than 20 minutes later, Cavalcante—who was convicted in August of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend and later sentenced to life without parole—had successfully escaped using a method similar to another prisoner's escape back in May.
At 8:51 a.m., per Holland, Cavalcante escaped “from the prison having crab-walked up a wall” before pushing his way through a razor wire and running across the roof. At that point, Holland said, Cavalcante scaled a fence and pushed his way through even more razor wire.
A tower officer at the facility did not initially “oversee nor report the escape” as had been the case with the prior incident, which itself had been the reason for the razor write being added to the structure. At 9:45 a.m., a missing inmate was reported at the prison, followed five minutes later by a lockdown and a special count.
Moving forward, prison officials say that further overhaul of the facility's design will be instituted as the investigation and search continues. The brief clip shared on Wednesday shows the inmate in between two walls near the exercise yard. With apparent ease, he's then seen crab-walking up the walls until he's no longer in the range of the security camera.
The combined reward total for information leading to Cavalcante’s capture is now at $20,000. Complex has reached out to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for additional comment. This story may be updated.
As the crab-walking escape clip started making the rounds, some were quick to reference Looney Tunes, while others went the SpongeBob SquarePants route. Regardless, such jokes point to the inconceivability of this entire story (not to mention the droves of money given to law enforcement and cop-adjacent institutions only for shit like this to happen).
