Woman Convicted in Drugging Death of Telemundo Reporter Covering Super Bowl in New Orleans

A New Orleans jury has convicted a woman of negligent homicide and racketeering in the death of a Telemundo reporter who was found dead in his hotel room while covering Super Bowl LIX, capping a case that revealed a years-long scheme to drug and rob visitors in the French Quarter.

Danette Colbert, 49, was found guilty September 18 alongside co-defendant Rickey White, 35, after a trial that laid out how the two allegedly built a robbery operation around drugging their targets into unconsciousness.

Who Adan Manzano was

Adan Manzano was a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo’s Kansas City, Missouri station, in New Orleans in February 2025 to cover Super Bowl LIX. He was found dead in his hotel room in the suburb of Kenner on February 5, 2025. An autopsy determined he died face-down on a pillow, unable to breathe after consuming alcohol combined with Xanax, a sedative. His death came almost exactly a year after his wife died in a car accident, leaving behind their toddler daughter.

How investigators connected Colbert to the case

Colbert was the last person seen leaving Manzano’s hotel room before he was found dead. In the hours and days afterward, she used his stolen credit card at a gas station and other stores around New Orleans, a trail that helped investigators build their case against her.

A scheme prosecutors say ran for years

According to prosecutors, Colbert posed as a “prostitute or ‘party girl'” to lure targets, while White acted as her “pimp,” providing security and helping identify victims. The pair’s operation allegedly spanned years and multiple victims, luring targets with the promise of a night out, drugging them into unconsciousness, then using their stolen cards and phones to drain their bank accounts. Prosecutors presented extensive text messages between Colbert, White and a third conspirator, Christian Anderson, discussing the drugging and robbery of victims over an extended period.

Charges sought versus what the jury found

Prosecutors had pursued a manslaughter charge against Colbert, which carried up to 40 years in prison, but the jury instead convicted her of the lesser charge of negligent homicide, which carries a 10-year maximum, along with racketeering, which carries up to 50 years. White was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of racketeering. The jury deliberated five and a half hours before reaching its verdict.

The witness who avoided trial

A third alleged conspirator, Christian Anderson, 35, testified against Colbert and White in exchange for reduced charges of his own. He pleaded guilty to simple robbery and access device fraud and was sentenced to six years, a fraction of what Colbert and White now face.

A tourist-district pattern investigators have flagged before

French Quarter robbery schemes built around drugging visitors are not new to New Orleans law enforcement, who have warned in the past about scams targeting tourists in the district’s bar-heavy blocks, particularly during major events that draw large numbers of out-of-town visitors. The Super Bowl brought an unusually large influx of visitors to New Orleans in February 2025, the kind of high-traffic event that has previously drawn additional police attention to drink-spiking and robbery schemes in the Quarter, though it’s unclear whether Manzano’s case prompted any specific new enforcement measures.

Covering his final assignment

Manzano had traveled to New Orleans specifically for Super Bowl LIX, one of the marquee assignments a local television reporter can get, covering the kind of event that draws national attention to a station’s Spanish-language sports and entertainment coverage. His death cut short a trip that began as a career highlight, and colleagues at Telemundo’s Kansas City station have not publicly detailed how the newsroom has processed the loss since his death in February 2025.

What prosecutors said after the verdict

Assistant District Attorney Jenny Voss said the office was satisfied with the outcome despite the complexity of the case: “We are pleased with the verdict. We knew that this was a difficult case going in with a lot of complicated law, and we really feel like they took all that into consideration, and justice was served.”

What happens next

Colbert and White are scheduled to be sentenced in late September 2026. Between the negligent homicide and racketeering convictions, Colbert faces a maximum exposure of 60 years, though sentencing guidelines and any credit for time served will factor into what a judge ultimately hands down. Telemundo’s Kansas City station did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the verdict.

How the case reshaped local safety warnings

The Colbert and White prosecution has already fed into broader conversations among French Quarter business owners and New Orleans tourism officials about how visitors are warned about drink-spiking and robbery schemes tied to nightlife districts. Cases like this one, where a scheme allegedly ran for years before an outside tragedy exposed it, tend to prompt renewed calls for bars and hotels to post clearer warnings and for police to increase visible patrols during high-traffic weekends. Whether the Manzano case specifically triggers new city-level policy remains to be seen, but attorneys who work robbery and vulnerable-victim cases in New Orleans say verdicts of this scale — with the maximum sentencing exposure running into the decades — tend to get cited in later prosecutions as a benchmark for how juries weigh negligent homicide against a full manslaughter charge in drugging-related deaths.

How the trial split public reaction

The verdict has drawn mixed reactions from those who followed the trial closely. Some observers argued the negligent homicide conviction, rather than manslaughter, undersold the severity of a death that followed a deliberate drugging, while others noted the racketeering conviction — carrying the heavier maximum sentence of the two — reflects the jury’s view that the ongoing criminal enterprise, not just the single fatal encounter, was the more serious offense. Family members of Manzano have not issued a detailed public statement on the verdict, and it remains unclear whether they plan to attend the sentencing hearing in person.

Follow Smashology Media’s Crime coverage as sentencing approaches for Colbert and White.

Sources

• CBS News: Woman found guilty of negligent homicide in Super Bowl reporter’s death in Louisiana
• NBC News: Jury convicts woman of negligent homicide in death of reporter covering Super Bowl in New Orleans