Police: Super Bowl reporter found dead in hotel room had sedative drug in his system

.NEW ORLEANS — The television reporter who died in New Orleans while on assignment to cover the Super Bowl had a sedative drug in his system, a police detective testified in court this week.

Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old anchor and reporter for Telemundo in Kansas City, Missouri, was found dead in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner on Feb. 5 during Super Bowl week.

Danette Colbert, 48, is accused of stealing Manzano’s cellphone and bank cards after she was seen on security video footage entering his hotel room with him, authorities said. She is being held without bond after a court appearance Tuesday, having been deemed a flight risk based on her criminal history, Kenner Police Department Deputy Chief Mark McCormick told The Associated Press.

“We believe that that will help prevent any further victimization for the public,” he said Wednesday.

Colbert’s attorney Stavros Panagoulopoulos said authorities are making assumptions about Colbert’s connection to Manzano’s death.

“We’re looking forward to our day in court to present all the evidence as necessary,” Panagoulopoulos said. “Assumptions and guesses are not enough to maintain criminal prosecution and we look forward to providing further information as this case moves forward.”

Colbert faces multiple felony charges related to theft and fraud as police await a final autopsy and toxicology report, according to McCormick. He added that Colbert may face upgraded charges once these tests are finalized in the coming weeks.

A preliminary toxicology exam found Manzano’s system contained the depressant benzodiazepine, which includes the drug commonly sold under the brand name Xanax, Kenner Police Detective Jeffrey Fitzmorris testified in Jefferson Parish magistrate court on Tuesday, according to media outlet Nola.com. Manzano did not have a prescription for Xanax or other depressants based on his medical records and the drug is often used to facilitate theft by inducing amnesia, the detective said.

Police say they also recovered Xanax from Colbert’s residence.

Overdoses of the drug can lead to “extreme drowsiness” and “possible death,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Surveillance footage showed Colbert arriving with Manzano at his hotel room around 5 a.m. the day of his death and then leaving without him about an hour later, police have said. Authorities have said Colbert later used Manzano’s credit card to make a purchase at a New Orleans gas station and several stores in the area.

Last year, a Louisiana jury found Colbert guilty of theft and fraud charges in an unrelated case.

In 2022, Colbert was twice arrested in Las Vegas on felony charges of grand larceny and administering a drug to aid in a felony crime, court records show. In both cases she was accused of drugging men in their hotel rooms and stealing from them, but the charges were dismissed because the victims did not want to testify in court, Colbert’s attorney for those cases, Daniel Lippmann, told The Associated Press.