A 27-year-old Kansas City Telemundo reporter, Adan Manzano, who had been covering Super Bowl LIX was found dead in a New Orleans area hotel room last week, as he is now believed to be the victim of a fatal robbery scheme. That is, the suspect has been identified as Danette Colbert, 48, who is also referred to as the "Bourbon Street Hustler" for her previous crimes. She is known to have a criminal history of drugging men and stealing their money/credit cards.
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Woman accused of using a credit card belonging to deceased sports reporter Adam Manzano, 27, from Telemundo in Kansas City.
Manzano was found dead while covering Super Bowl LIX, Telemundo KC reported.
The station’s general manager, Steve Downing, said Manzano was found dead… pic.twitter.com/7OUPShkdes
— Mountain Daily Star (@MtnDailyStar) February 9, 2025
As for how they met is unknown at this time, but surveillance footage caught Colbert luring Manzano into a Comfort Suites hotel around 4:00 am on February 5th.
Colbert was seen leaving the room and coming back, then leaving again over the next few hours, where it has now been revealed she used the journalist's credit card at stores around New Orleans (per NBC News).
After police found Manzano's cellphone and credit card in her home, Colbert is now being arrested in connection to his tragic death, as it is believed the young up-and-coming reporter was drugged that night.
NEW: Louisiana woman with a history of drugging men was arrested after a Super Bowl reporter was found dead in his hotel
Adan Manzano, 27, was a rising sports reporter covering the Super Bowl for Telemundo in New Orleans
Danette Colbert was arrested after using Manzano’s credit… pic.twitter.com/AVrLZ0WqEK
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 9, 2025
Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley addressed Ms. Colbert's recent arrest in a press conference ahead of the Super Bowl.
"She's a career criminal ... Ms. Colbert has quite a record and rap sheet for confidence games, access device fraud, and robbery schemes."
As of now the investigation is ongoing, but she is currently "charged with property crimes, including fraud and theft-related offenses," according to the police statement.
The police are waiting on the toxicology report to confirm whether Manzano was drugged.
"You asked if this was a homicide, I don't know where it's going to end up. We're going to let the evidence lead us to the end result and not speculate," Conley said. "As soon as the coroner finishes with his findings and they will classify it as either homicide or whatever death the evidence leads him to and then these charges could be upgraded."
After this news of Colbert's arrest became public, other alleged victims have come forward, and said they had a similar experience with what happened in the Manzano case.
David Butler, 52, says he met Colbert at a bar in New Orleans back in November of 2021.
"Butler said Colbert and another woman approached him and offered him a cocktail, and after enjoying the drink, he quickly started to feel disoriented and needed help getting back home" (per New York Post).
"'She ushered me into some kind of black Suburban that was literally right there... And that's the last thing I remember that night.'"
Luckily for Butler, he survived the incident, but he did note that his phone, wallet, and credit cards were all gone upon waking up.
Colbert used his cards to make thousand-dollar charges at Best Buy and Walmart, and even took more than $80,000 that Butler had saved in a cryptocurrency account for retirement.
Reportedly, Colbert, the Bourbon Street Hustler, was charged in 2022 with grand larceny and administering a drug to aid in the commission of a felony in two separate cases, however, she never faced jail time.
In an interview with NBC, Butler stated, "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."
Manzano was a single father, who leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter after previously losing his wife in a car crash last year.
