A Slidell, Louisiana, woman with a long criminal history is in police custody after allegedly using a credit card belonging to late TV journalist Adan Manzano, who died this week while on assignment covering the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Danette Colbert was taken into custody after allegedly using Manzano’s credit card at several stores in New Orleans, Kenner Police Department Chief of Police Keith A. Conley revealed in a Feb. 7 press conference.
Police discovered surveillance footage of Colbert accompanying Manzano, 27, to his hotel room at 4:35 a.m on the morning of Feb. 5 and later leaving the room alone, said Conley.
Manzano, a reporter and sports anchor for Telemundo Kansas City in Missouri, was found dead on Feb. 5, according to Conley, who did not provide a cause of death.
While police were processing Manzano’s hotel room, they noticed that a credit card and a cell phone were missing, said Conley.
A search of Colbert’s home in Slidell produced the missing credit card and cell phone as well as narcotics and a stolen firearm, said the chief.
Conley noted that Colbert had a lengthy “rap sheet” for committing robbery and device fraud, among other criminal activity. He also noted that Colbert’s criminal history included two instances where she drugged her victims.
Colbert is now being held on property crime charges, said Conley, adding that an investigation was ongoing and police are waiting on a coroner’s report.
“You asked if this was a homicide. I don’t know where it’s going to end up,” Conley told reporters. “We’re going to let the evidence lead us to the end result and not speculate.”
Telemundo Kansas City shared the news of Manzano’s death Feb. 6 in a statement on Facebook.
“We are saddened to share that Adan Manzano passed away yesterday in New Orleans while on assignment to cover the Super Bowl for both Telemundo Kansas City and Tico Sports,” the statement said.
The station went on to call Manzano a “true professional” and a “rising star.”
“We will deeply miss Adan and his passion for sports, and the contributions he made to the local community,” it added.
Manzano’s death comes less than a year after the death of his wife, Ashleigh Boyd, who was involved in a car accident on April 11, 2024, in Topeka, Kansas.