Foreign

Murderous Cavalcante captured by Belgian Malinois  

By Web News 351

A murderer who escaped from a US jail two weeks ago was captured by a law enforcement dog after a heat-sensing aircraft located him, authorities say.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was arrested in a wooded area in Pennsylvania on Wednesday as he tried to crawl away from officers who had surrounded him.

ABC7 Chicago

More than 500 officers hunted him down after he escaped on 31 August.

He was sentenced to life in prison last month for killing his ex-girlfriend in front of her two children in 2021.

But just a week after he was sentenced, Cavalcante “crab-walked” between two walls and scaled a razor-wire fence to escape Chester County Prison, about 30 miles (50km) west of Philadelphia, where he had been awaiting transfer to a different facility.

The two-week manhunt spanned a large area of the state and put residents of Chester County on edge, with earlier sightings prompting police to advise residents to lock their doors and stay inside.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Cavalcante was “apprehended with no shots fired” shortly after 08:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

He credited the “extraordinary work” of law enforcement and “a tremendous assist from members of the public” for Cavalcante’s capture.

BBC/Adebukola Aluko

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Foreign

Massive Manhunt for Pennsylvania Jail Breaker, Michael Burnham

By Web News 379

A suspected murderer with “survivalist skills” has broken out of a Pennsylvania jail by climbing on exercise equipment and is now the subject of a multi-state manhunt.

Michael Burnham escaped from a jail in Warren, near a huge forest, overnight on Thursday.

The public has been told to be vigilant and report suspicious people.

He was last seen wearing an orange-and-white striped jumpsuit, croc shoes and a jail-issued blue denim jacket.

Officials say the jail noticed he was missing on Friday morning, and that he managed to escape by climbing the equipment and exiting through a metal roof.

He then used bed sheets that he tied together to lower himself off the roof.

“We have no indication that he’s being assisted by anyone at this point, but he is familiar [with] the area and… he is a survivalist and has survivalist skills,” said Warren County spokeswoman Cecile Stelter.

The jail is located around 18 miles (28km) from Jamestown, New York, near the Pennsylvania border and is near the Allegheny National Forest.

The size of the forest is approximately 515,000 acres, according to the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees US national forests.

“Extensive searches of the area are still being conducted and a thorough investigation is ongoing,” police said in a Facebook post on Friday.

They added that dogs, drones, aircrafts and all-terrain vehicles are being used in the search.

Residents have been told to lock their doors, stay inside, and not to make contact with the suspect if they see him.

“He is considered dangerous by his past actions and the public is asked not to approach him, but if they see anything unusual to call 911,” Ms Stelter said.

Burham, 34, was being held on arson and burglary charges and was considered a suspect in the murder of a local woman. He has also been charged with rape, unlawful imprisonment, and multiple other charges.

In May, he was arrested in South Carolina after a four-day manhunt. He was taken into custody after two people called the FBI saying he had kidnapped them and drove them to the city of North Charleston from Pennsylvania.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Foreign

Harvard Morgue Manager Charged with Trading Human Remains

By Web News 344

The manager of Harvard Medical School’s morgue and three others have been charged with buying and selling stolen human remains.

Cedric Lodge allegedly took “heads, brains, skin and bones” from cadavers donated to Harvard University’s medical school and sold them online.

According to the indictment, he and his wife, Denise, sold body parts to buyers in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

The scheme allegedly ran from 2018 to 2021.

Prosecutors allege Mr Lodge used his position as the manager of the “Anatomical Gifts Program” at Harvard Medical School to dismember cadavers donated for medical research.

Harvard students use donated bodies to study and practice medical procedures. When the school finishes using the cadaver, they are often cremated and the remains returned to their families, or buried in the university’s medical cemetery, according to the indictment.

Mr Lodge and his wife are accused of harvesting, selling and shipping body parts from these donated cadavers instead.

“At times, Cedric Lodge allowed [others] to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase,” according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office.

Katrina Maclean of Salem, Massachusetts, and Joshua Taylor, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania allegedly bought body parts.

According to the charging statement, in October 2020, Ms Maclean purchased dissected faces for $600 (£473) that she intended to have tanned into leather.

Ms Maclean is the owner of a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations. Social media accounts for the business show she specialised in up-cycling dolls into gothic, blood-soaked, horror novelties. It is unclear if the cadaver parts were used in her products. The indictment alleges she stored and sold human remains at the store.

Mr Taylor allegedly made 39 electronic payments to Ms Lodge for stolen body parts over the course of four years, totalling more than $37,000 (£29,226). The indictment included a grim reference to a PayPal memo for a purchase of $1,000 (£790) that allegedly read, “head number 7”.

“Some crimes defy understanding,” said United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam in a statement. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human.”

Both Cedric and Denise Lodge refused to answer reporters’ questions after making an initial appearance at a New Hampshire federal courthouse on Wednesday.

All four defendants have been indicted on conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods charges. If convicted, they each face up to 15 years in prison.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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