Jury Convicts Woman Of Negligent Homicide And Racketeering In Death Of Telemundo Super Bowl Reporter

A Jefferson Parish jury found Danette Colbert, 49, guilty of negligent homicide and racketeering in the death of 27-year-old KGKC Telemundo reporter Adan Manzano, who was discovered dead in a Kenner hotel room on Feb. 5, 2025, days before Super Bowl LIX.

Case Overview

Colbert and co-defendant Rickey White, 35, were accused by prosecutors of operating a criminal enterprise that targeted men in New Orleans by drugging them and stealing their valuables. The jury convicted both defendants on racketeering charges; White was acquitted of manslaughter while Colbert was convicted of the lesser charge of negligent homicide.

Kenner Police Department - PHOTO: The Kenner Police Department provided surveillance footage that they say shows Adan Manzano and Danette Colbert getting off the elevator in a hotel hallway.

Cause Of Death And Evidence

According to the Jefferson Parish coroner, Manzano died from the combined effects of Xanax and alcohol and from "positional asphyxia." Police say colleagues requested a welfare check after Manzano failed to respond, and he was found face-down on his hotel bed.

Prosecutors introduced surveillance footage and extensive digital evidence, including thousands of text messages, images and videos. Authorities say video showed Colbert with Manzano in the French Quarter and later entering his hotel room. Investigators also presented phone media they contend captured Colbert making multiple videos of herself while inside the room and attempting to access Manzano's phone and bank accounts "while he lay dying or dead."

Kenner Police Department | Broward County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Danette Colbert is shown in this undated booking photo. | Ricky White is shown in this undated booking photo.

Alleged Scheme And Testimony

Prosecutors said Colbert posed as a sex worker and supplied victims with alcohol or drugs to render them unconscious, then stole phones, credit cards, cash, jewelry and other valuables. White was described as coordinating the operation and helping to access and distribute stolen property.

Other victims testified at trial, including one man who said he lost $100,000 after an encounter with Colbert. A third alleged participant, Christian Dean Anderson, 35, pleaded guilty to simple robbery and access device fraud, received a six-year sentence and testified for the prosecution under a plea agreement.

Verdict, Sentencing And Potential Penalties

The jury deliberated for more than five hours before returning its verdict. Colbert and White are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 28. Each faces up to 50 years in prison on the racketeering conviction; the negligent homicide conviction against Colbert carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Reactions

Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Jenny Voss: "We believe the verdicts delivered justice to the family of Adan Manzano."

Stavros Panagoulopoulos (Colbert's defense attorney): "Negligent homicide is a far cry from manslaughter. Given the nature of the deliberations, this appears to be a compromise verdict."

The Kenner Police Department, which led the death investigation alongside other agencies, said the convictions provide "a measure of justice and closure to the family of Adan Manzano and to the victims and families affected by the criminal activity uncovered during this investigation."