A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of a TV reporter who had traveled to New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl.
Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old anchor and reporter for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, was found dead in his Kenner hotel room on February 5.
Investigators allege that Danette Colbert was spotted on hotel security footage leaving Manzano’s room. She had met him earlier in the evening and returned to his room with him, but left alone. Colbert has since been charged with second-degree murder after police allegedly found her in possession of Manzano’s credit cards and cellphone.
Prosecutors have now charged a second suspect, Rickey White, with second-degree murder and are considering him an accomplice to Colbert, according to the Associated Press.
White, 34, was arrested back in March on robbery and fraud charges related to Manzano’s death. He was then extradited to Louisiana for trial.
Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said during a March press conference that they had linked White to Colbert based on “correspondence and information where they were going back and forth.”
“So we think they were working hand-in-hand, in concert with each other,” he said.
Police did not explain exactly how White is being tied to Manzano’s actual murder.
Kevin Boshea, the attorney representing Manzano, said he only found out about the murder charge against his client when a reporter called him.
When the AP asked Boshea about the new charges, the defense attorney naturally defended his client.
“I don’t think [White is] guilty of the other crimes,” he said. “So, how can he be guilty of murder?”
Boshea said when he demanded that police provide evidence proving that White was in the New Orleans area on the night of the murder, he was met by silence.
In Louisiana, the state allows for second-degree murder charges to be brought against someone who distributed drugs that caused a death or for committing certain crimes — like robbery — that end in someone dying.
An autopsy report in March revealed that Manzano was lying face down on a pillow, which blocked his ability to breathe, after he had consumed a combination of alcohol and Xanax.
Police checked into Manzano’s medical records and found no prescription for Xanax or similar depressants, but they did allegedly find Xanax on Colbert when they searched her home.
This isn’t the first time Colbert has been charged with drugging and stealing from a man. She was arrested twice in Las Vegas on felony charges for grand larceny and administering a drug to aid in a felony crime, according to court records.
In the Las Vegas incident, Colbert allegedly drugged men in their hotel rooms and stole their valuables. Attorney Daniel Lippmann, Colbert’s attorney in the Las Vegas cases, the charges against her were dropped because the alleged victim declined to testify.
On the night of Manzano’s murder, Colbert and White reportedly texted each other multiple times, with some of the messages allegedly containing discussions about getting victims’ PIN numbers and about using “knock outs” to render victims unconscious, according to WWL-TV.
