Police Arrest Woman Using Credit Cards Belonging To Super Bowl Reporter Found Dead At Hotel

(Kathryn Riley via AP)

Kenner Police arrested a woman with a history of defrauding tourists after she was allegedly caught using the credit cards of Kansas City reporter Adan Manzano, who was found dead after arriving in the city ahead of covering Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Manzano, a 27-year-old sideline reporter for Telemundo affiliate KBKC, was found unresponsive in his hotel room Wednesday afternoon. Kenner Police found hotel surveillance footage of Danette Colbert leaving his room hours before his body was discovered.

Colbert, who was taken into custody Thursday, has not been charged in connection to Manzano’s death but faces multiple fraud-related charges after allegedly using his credit cards at various New Orleans stores.

In a briefing, Kenner Police Deputy Chief Mark McCormick added that while the cause of death is still pending toxicology results there were “no signs of obvious trauma.”

Police were reportedly aware of Colbert’s criminal activities, which involve previous convictions for theft and credit card fraud targeting tourists on Bourbon Street. In 2017, she pleaded guilty to access device fraud after attempting to purchase $1,600 in gift cards with a stolen credit card. She received five years’ probation in 2019 for a separate fraud case involving stolen cards used to rack up $6,000 in purchases.

“Obviously, there are allegations in [Colbert’s] past criminal history that make us consider” the possibility of drugging, McCormick said. “But we don’t have anything at this point.”

The investigation is ongoing.