The woman accused of luring a sports reporter to his death at a hotel near New Orleans faces a murder charge and may have worked with an accomplice to hatch her deadly scheme, police announced Tuesday.
Serial fraudster Danette Colbert allegedly lured 27-year-old Adan Manzano – a Telemundo correspondent covering the Super Bowl – into a Kenner, Louisiana, hotel room where he was later found dead.
Now, Kenner police have booked Colbert on a second-degree murder charge, and they have arrested Ricky White, a “transient” accused of working “hand-in-hand” with Colbert to steal the reporter’s identity and rack up charges around New Orleans.
Manzano was found dead in a New Orleans hotel room just days before he was due to cover the Super Bowl. Facebook/Adan Manzano
Manzano was last seen on security cameras being lured into a hotel room by the so-called “Bourbon Street Hustler” Danette Colbert. Kenner Police departmentCops picked up Colbert after security camera footage showed her entering a Comfort Inn Suites with Manzano, then leaving by herself, re-entering, and leaving again on the day he was found dead.
On Friday, cops nabbed her alleged accomplice in Hollywood, Florida. He is awaiting extradition from Fort Lauderdale.
While it’s unclear exactly how or when the substance entered Manzano’s system, officials said the same drug was later found at Colbert’s residence. Kenner Police DepartmentAuthorities have not determined the exact cause of Manzano’s death, but a toxicology report found high levels of Benzodiazepine – or Xanax – in Manzano’s system, authorities said.
Xanax mixed with alcohol makes a deadly “blackout cocktail,” according to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Manzano was also found face-down on a pillow, suggesting he may have asphyxiated, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich told reporters.
Telemundo reporter Adan Manzano had Xanax in his system at the time of his death, officials have confirmed. APManzano was found without his cell phone or credit card, and police say Colbert and White racked up charges on Manzano’s credit card at stores around New Orleans.
“We found correspondence and information where [Colbert and White] were going back and forth. We think they were working hand-in-hand, in concert,” Kenner police chief Keith Conley told reporters.
Colbert already had a long history of fraud and theft, including two schemes that involved drugging and men, earning her the nickname “Bourbon Street Hustler.”
“She’s a career criminal … Ms. Colbert has quite a record and rap sheet for confidence games, access device fraud, and robbery schemes,” Conley told reporters after her arrest last month.
