Danette Colbert, a Louisiana woman known as a “career criminal” for her involvement in fraud, robbery and theft, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Kansas City-based reporter Adan Manzano, authorities said Tuesday.
Manzano’s death resulted from drug and alcohol intoxication
According to USA Today, Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley confirmed during a news conference that Colbert, 48, was booked on the charge Tuesday morning. She also has additional open charges from two other Louisiana parishes and remains at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerald Cvitanovich attended the news conference, stating that Manzano’s death resulted from the harmful effects of Xanax and alcohol intoxication combined with “positional asphyxia.” Despite these contributing factors, the manner of death remains undetermined.
Manzano was found face down on a pillow, and his blood alcohol level was .232, which is almost three times the legal amount in the state of Louisiana, Cvitanovich said, per USA Today.
Colbert has an alleged history of drugging men
Last month, Manzano was in New Orleans to cover his third consecutive Super Bowl game. He was later found dead inside his hotel room on Feb. 5. Colbert was seen on video footage from the Comfort Inn Suites in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner entering and leaving Manzano’s room, Blavity and The Daily Mail reported. She was arrested two days after his death on Feb. 7.
Colbert was dubbed a “career criminal” and was allegedly known for drugging men in the past. She and Manzano were seen on security footage entering his hotel room around 4:30 a.m. that Wednesday. She briefly left the room, then returned before leaving again at 6 a.m. and never returned. Manzano never left the room after they entered together. During the investigation, police confirmed Colbert did not act alone.
NBC News reported that authorities announced the arrest of a second person, Ricky White, in connection with Manzano’s death. He was taken into custody in Florida on charges of robbery, illegal transmission of monetary funds, computer fraud, and bank fraud and is awaiting extradition, Conley said. The outlet reported Colbert was charged with bank fraud, computer fraud, robbery, illegal transmission of monetary funds and purse snatching.
Other victims had come forward in their encounters with Colbert
She has been in custody since Feb. 7. Colbert has an extensive criminal history, with charges in at least five fraud and theft cases across two states. Kenner Deputy Police Chief Mark McCormick stated that several people and their loved ones have reported encounters with Colbert, NBC News reported.
One man told NBC News that after drinking with Colbert at a French Quarter bar, he became disoriented and was escorted into an SUV. He woke up hours later at a nearby home, finding his phone missing and $80,000 gone from his cryptocurrency account. Colbert was convicted and sentenced to five years of probation.
Two Las Vegas cases were dropped because the victims did not want to testify in court, Colbert’s attorney in those cases revealed to The Associated Press, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
