The Telemundo reporter who was found dead in a New Orleans hotel room just days before he was due to cover the Super Bowl, had Xanax in his system at the time of his death, officials have confirmed.
Adan Manzano, 27, a reporter for Telemundo Kansas City, was last seen on security cameras being lured into a hotel room by the so-called “Bourbon Street Hustler” Danette Colbert who was found with his cellphone and credit card in her home.
On Tuesday, a preliminary toxicology report showed Alprazolam in Mananzo’s system at the time of his death, KCTV reports.
Kenner, La., police Det. Jeffrey Fitzmorris testified at a Jefferson Parish courtroom, the outlet adds.
Fitzmorris said the reporter was not prescribed Xanax before his death, WLOX reported.
While it’s unclear exactly how or when the substance entered Manzano’s system, officials said the same drug was later found at Colbert’s residence.
On Feb. 11, the Kenner Police Department told reporters that Colbert had a history of drugging men and stealing from them, but were waiting on the report to discover if Manzano had been drugged.
Moments before his death, the reporter was seen carrying a plastic shopping bag as he walked behind Colbert into the same room at the New Orleans hotel he would soon be found dead in while staying there to cover the Super Bowl.
Police arrested Colbert, 48, the following day.
Days after his death, officials at a February 7 press conference said that Colbert used Manzano’s credit card at several stores around New Orleans.
She was arrested and charged with robbery in connection to the Manzano case.
David Butler, 52, alleged that he was drugged and robbed when Colbert and another woman approached him for drinks in the French Quarter in 2021.
Butler told NBC News that he felt “disoriented” when he finished his cocktail.
“She ushered me into some kind of black Suburban that was literally right there,” he told the outlet. “And that’s the last thing I remember that night.”
Nevada court records show that Colbert was charged in 2022 with grand larceny and administering a drug to aid in the commission of a felony in two separate cases. Both cases were dismissed after the victims refused to testify in court.
Colbert was convicted last October of computer fraud, theft, and illegal transmission of monetary funds, with Orleans Criminal District Judge Nandi Campbell forgoing prison time and instead ordering her to pay restitution and remain on probation for five years, according to court records.
However, despite her criminal history, her attorney argued during her bond hearing in court that her past should not play a part in this case, WDSU reports.
Still, the judge overseeing the hearing denied Colbert’s bond and described her as “a danger to society,” the outlet added.