Authorities repeatedly said she took the man after drugged them in connection with the death of a reporter in Telemund Kansas City who was in town to cover the Super Bowl. said the woman faced the allegations.
Danet Colbert, 48, of Slidell, L.A., was seen along with 27-year-old Adan Manzano before his body was found in his hotel room, Kenner’s police chief Keith A. Conley on Wednesday. He was the last person to come. La. said at a press conference on Friday.
She also stole Manzano’s cell phone and one of his credit cards and used it at several stores in the New Orleans area, the chief said.
Investigators said they are still waiting for the autopsy to determine how Manzano, who lost his wife in a car accident last year and had a young girl, died.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for information Friday regarding the status of Manzano’s autopsy.
Still, Chief Conley said Colbert’s method, which has so far been charged with fraud and theft-related crimes, fits the pattern of targeting men.
“She’s playing a confident game,” he said. “She’s definitely a career criminal.”
In 2022, Colbert was charged with several felony in Nevada after two men told police they had been drugged and taken away while staying at a Las Vegas Strip casino, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. reported at the time.
One of the men invited Colbert and another woman to her room, then woke up to her bloody nose and then she went on to her own room and then spent $50,000 in cash, $30,000 worth of Rolex watches and casino chips, $11,000 and 5,000. The dollar Louis Vuitton bag, his iPhone 11 and $2,000 Satchel, reported the newspaper. Another man said he had gone through a similar ordeal. His Ardmars Pigette Royal Oak Watch was missing in addition to $1,500 worth of $60,000 and his credit card.
Court records show that both cases the authorities mentioned at a press conference on Friday have been dismissed. It was not clear why the prosecutors had not proceeded with the charges against Colbert. on friday.
It was not immediately clear whether Colbert, who was taken into custody in New Orleans on Thursday night, had an attorney.
At a press conference Friday, authorities said surveillance video filmed at Kenner’s Comfort Suites showed Manzano entering a hotel room with Colbert around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. A while later, Colbert left his room and returned and stayed until about 6am, police said. Manzano never appeared in the video again. His body was found later Wednesday during a wellness check after he didn’t show up for the reservation.
Secretary Conley said law enforcement officials in the area are already familiar with Colbert.
“She was stopped very often in the French district,” he said. “And she’s known for these fraud schemes.”
When investigators searched Manzano’s wallet, the chief said he noticed the credit card he used to check in to the hotel was missing. So did his cell phone. The chief was found with a stolen credit card at Colbert’s home.
“This makes it clear that there are people out there who prey on others, bring them confidence and sacrifice them,” Chief Conley said. “These are things that can happen no matter what city you are in.”
Manzano is a sports anchor and reporter for KGKC, an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Telemundo, and called him a “new star” in his website and social media posts. He had covered the Super Bowl LIX to New Orleans for TICO Sports, which carries the station and Kansas City Chiefs games in Spanish. The Chief, who continues his third championship, will play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
This would have been Manzano’s third time covering the Super Bowl. A pre-game profile by NBC TV station KSNT last year said Manzano, a Mexico City native and Kansas State alumnus, covered last year’s Chiefs victory. He lived in Topeka, Kansas, according to the station. Manzano told the station he was proud of his role in expanding his Spanish-speaking audience for football games.
“Style, culture, they get their culture,” he said. “phrasing, rhythm, tone of voice used – a moment in the game.”
In one of his final Facebook posts on January 6th, Manzano shared a photo of himself and his wife, Ashleigh Boyd, celebrating his daughter’s first birthday. Boyd, a 24-year-old primary school teacher, died in a head-on collision in Kansas in April 2024, and Kanz’s daughter was also injured.
Steve Downing, general manager of Telemund Kansas City, said in an email Friday that the station is aware that arrests have been made in connection with Manzano’s death. He said Manzano’s family requested privacy and there were no comments.
