A Telemundo news reporter who died while in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl might have fallen prey to a con woman who police say is known for drugging and scamming men in the area.
Kansas City Telemundo's Adan Manzano, 27, was seen on video entering his hotel room at 4:35 a.m. Feb. 5 with Danette Colbert, Kenner police chief Keith Conley said in a press conference. Colbert was seen leaving around 6 a.m., Conley said, and Manzano was not seen on security cameras again.
"Ms. Colbert has quite a record and rap sheet for confidence games, access device fraud, and robbery schemes," Conley said.
Conley said he was aware of one case in Nevada from 2022 where Colbert was accused of drugging a victim and faced a criminal charge and another incident in Louisiana in 2023.
Conley said police are awaiting the results of an autopsy and that depending on the coroner's findings, the criminal charges against Colbert could be upgraded.
When police searched Manzano's hotel room they discovered that the credit card he used to check into the hotel was missing as was his cell phone. The credit card was later used in New Orleans. When police searched Colbert's home they found the credit card and the cell phone.
Conley also said that the police recovered narcotics and a stolen firearm which he said was unrelated to the Manzano investigation.
One of Colbert's alleged victims, 52-year-old David Butler told NBC News that Colbert drugged him and robbed him. In that case, Colbert was convicted of computer fraud, theft and illegal transmission of monetary funds. The judge ordered Colbert to make restitution in the case and suspended the prison sentence.
Butler told NBC News he has, so far, received no money from Colbert.
"Had the court acted decisively by incarcerating Ms. Colbert or enforcing stricter conditions for her release, it is possible Mr. Manzano would still be alive today," Butler told NBC News.
The Associated Press reported that Colbert was twice arrested in 2022 in Las Vegas on felony charges of grand larceny and administering a drug to aid in a felony crime. Both cases were dismissed when victims declined to testify in court. Both cases involved accusations that the men had been drugged in their hotel rooms and stolen from, the AP reported.
