Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Police are now alleging that the two people who were arrested in March for the murder of 27-year-old reporter Adan Manzano in Louisiana while he was covering the Super Bowl conducted a years-long scheme to victimize people. Danette Colbert and Rickey White, who have been arrested in the case, allegedly had been targeting victims for several years in multiple locations.
According to the Kenner Police Department, Colbert and White “commonly use substances to drug their victims.” Adan Manzano, who was found dead in his hotel room in Kenner, Louisiana, on Feb. 5, died of the combined toxic effects of Alprazolam (Xanax) and alcohol with positional asphyxia,” according to the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office.
Law enforcement has now also claimed that Danette Colbert and Rickey White possessed years of text messages to coordinate knocking victims out with drugs and then stealing from them.
Colbert had originally been arrested and held in custody since Feb. 7 by the Kenner Police Department on theft-related crimes related to the case after she allegedly used Adan Manzano’s credit card at several stores in the New Orleans area. His cellphone and credit card were later found in her home.
Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Guardian reports that “at least three times in the four weeks before Manzano’s death, Colbert and White texted about the personal identification numbers of other people’s financial accounts, including one which showed a balance of more than $95,000 on an ATM’s screen.”
“This is a national, multijurisdictional crime spree. For that reason, we’ve asked and have been working with our attorney general to run point. Hopefully, we’ll have a better shot at solving it that way,” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told ABC News. “This was not random. There’s a certain pattern with having drinks or food and then saying to the person they’ll help him back to their room.”
Authorities also claim that text messages showing similar information being shared between Colbert and White date back to at least 2022. Colbert alludes to needing “knock outs” or wishing she had “KO” in some of the messages.
At least one message from Colbert describes her waiting for a man to fall asleep before going to the ATM and reuniting with White, 34. Another message to White recounted how Colbert was handed a cellphone by someone who was extremely intoxicated and failed to immediately notice that Colbert sent herself $8,000 from a cash-related application on the device.
Police also revealed that messages between Colbert and White discussed a bank account pin number while she was with Adam Manzano about 20 minutes before she went into his hotel room. The Kenner Police Department previously released surveillance video showing Danette Colbert with Adan Manzano in his hotel and entering and exiting his room.
One of Colbert’s numerous alleged previous victims, David Butler, said after the Super Bowl reporter’s death, “Had the court acted decisively by incarcerating Ms. Colbert or enforcing stricter conditions for her release, it is possible Mr. Manzano would still be alive today.”
Danette Colbert has officially been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Adan Manzano. Rickey White has been charged with robbery and fraud.