A Louisiana woman has been arrested following the death of Telemundo sports reporter Adan Manzano, who died this week in New Orleans while covering Super Bowl LIX.
Danette Colbert, of Slidell, was arrested in New Orleans Thursday night on fraud and theft-related charges, Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said at a Friday morning news conference.
Manzano, a reporter and sports anchor for Kansas City’s Telemundo affiliate, died Wednesday while on assignment to cover the Super Bowl for his third straight year, the station confirmed in a statement.
The 27-year-old newscaster was found dead in his hotel room in Kenner on the afternoon of Feb. 5. There were no signs of obvious trauma to his body, police said, adding that his cause of death has yet to be determined.
When detectives processed the crime scene, they discovered that a cellphone and the credit card Manzano used to check into the hotel were missing, Conley said.
The hotel’s security camera footage also showed Colbert leaving the hotel room on the morning of his death.
After investigators executed a search warrant at Colbert’s residence, they located Manzano’s cellphone and credit card, some narcotics as well as a stolen firearm, which does not appear related to the case, according to Conley.
Colbert used Manzano’s credit cards in different stores around New Orleans, authorities said.
The suspect’s criminal history includes two instances where she drugged a victim before stealing the person’s “access device card and things of that nature,” Conley told reporters.
“She plays a confident game,” Conley said. “She’s definitely a career criminal. All her crimes are… access to vice, frauds, simple robberies, thefts, things of that nature.”
At this time, Colbert is only being charged with property crimes and not for Manzano’s death, authorities said.