A Louisiana jury convicted a woman of negligent homicide on Thursday in the death of a Telemundo TV reporter who had been visiting New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl, according to the Jefferson parish district attorney’s office.
Danette Colbert, 49, was also convicted of racketeering, as was her accomplice, 35-year-old Rickey White, according to Paul Purpura, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office. Racketeering carries up to a 50-year sentence in Louisiana.
The two had spent years carrying out a criminal enterprise that drew in victims in the city’s historic French Quarter with the promise of sex, then used drugs to knock them out and drain their bank accounts using stolen cards and phones, according to prosecutors.
Colbert was the last person seen leaving the room of Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room on 5 February in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner days before the Super Bowl last year.
An autopsy revealed that Manzano died lying face down on a pillow, unable to breathe after ingesting a combination of alcohol and the depressant Xanax.
Prosecutors had sought to convict both Colbert and White on the charge of manslaughter, which carries up to a 40-year sentence. White was found not guilty.
Colbert’s negligent homicide conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, Jenny Voss, Jefferson parish assistant district attorney, told reporters. She said the jury had carefully weighed all the evidence and she respected its decision.
“We are pleased with the verdict – we knew this was a difficult case going in,” she told reporters. “Justice was served.”
Manzano’s family was unable to attend the trial, Voss added. A statement from Steve Downing, the general manager of Telemundo Kansas City where Manzano had worked, said: “Nothing can make this loss easier, and nothing can ever replace our dear friend Adan. Our thoughts remain with his family, loved ones and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Stavros Panagoulopoulos, Colbert’s attorney, and Leo Caillier III, White’s attorney, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Colbert, whose arrest record included allegations of drugging men and theft, later used Manzano’s credit card at a New Orleans gas station and other stores in the area.
In court documents, prosecutors described Colbert as acting under the guise of a “prostitute or ‘party girl’” while White served as her “pimp,” who provided security and helped find and rob victims.
Another man who assisted Colbert and White with their criminal ring, Christian Anderson, 35, testified against them in exchange for reducing his charges to simple robbery and access device fraud, according to Purpura. Court records show he pleaded guilty to both charges and received a six-year prison sentence.
Anderson “is relieved to be able to put this behind him”, said his attorney, Bradley Phillips. Anderson has been cooperating with law enforcement since his arrest and “has clearly demonstrated remorse for his past behavior”.
In court documents, prosecutors revealed extensive text messages dating back years among Colbert, White and Anderson, discussing using drugs to incapacitate and rob victims.
“We hope [the convictions in Manzano’s death] provide some measure of justice and closure to Adan’s family and to the other victims affected by this criminal enterprise,” Keith Conley, the Kenner police chief, said in a statement. “Society can now rest a little easier knowing that these criminals have been removed from the street.”
Colbert and White are scheduled to be sentenced in late September, according to the Jefferson parish district attorney’s office.
Manzano’s death came a year after his wife died in a car accident. The couple left behind a toddler daughter.
A former colleague of Manzano described him as a hard-working and talented Mexican immigrant who had been assigned to cover the Super Bowl in New Orleans because of the high quality of his journalism.
“He was a father who loved his daughter and a husband who missed his wife dearly,” the colleague said. “He was reliable, creative – and had a very long future ahead of him had it not been for this.”
Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting
