Text Messages Reveal Investigators Say a Yearslong Drugging and Robbery Pattern Tied to Super Bowl Reporter Adan Manzano’s Death in Louisiana

KENNER, LA — Text messages between two people charged in connection with the death of Telemundo Kansas City reporter Adan Manzano appear to show a yearslong plan to drug and rob victims in several places, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Investigators are now examining whether Danette Colbert and Rickey White operated an organized scheme that reached beyond one case and may have involved additional men in Louisiana and Las Vegas.

Manzano was in Louisiana to cover the Super Bowl when police say he was found dead in his hotel room in Kenner on Feb. 5. Authorities said Xanax was in his system, and the coroner ruled that he died from the combined toxic effects of Xanax and alcohol along with positional asphyxia. The manner of death remains undetermined because of the case’s uncertain circumstances.

Police say investigators are seeing a repeat pattern

Kenner police have said Colbert and White commonly used substances to drug their victims, and detectives believe that same pattern was used against Manzano. Surveillance video placed Manzano and Colbert together at his hotel the morning he was later found face-down on a pillow, according to police.

The alleged pattern, as described by Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, involved drinking or eating with a target and then offering to help that person back to a room. Williams said the case is not being treated as a random crime, but as part of a broader, multijurisdictional spree that investigators are trying to map out with help from the Louisiana attorney general.

Evidence recovered after Manzano’s death

Investigators said Colbert was found with Manzano’s cellphone and credit card, which helped lead to the initial property-crime allegations against her. Police later searched Colbert’s residence and said they found Xanax there one day after Manzano died. Those findings helped expand the case from theft and fraud-related accusations to a second-degree murder charge.

Colbert was first charged with property crimes before prosecutors added the more serious homicide allegation. Police said the additional charge reflects their belief that she intentionally drugged Manzano to leave him unconscious before robbing him, matching what detectives say they have seen in her prior offenses.

Authorities say other men may have been victimized

Sources told ABC News that investigators have already identified other men who appear to have been victimized by the pair. Officials are still working to determine whether the suspects were targeting men in New Orleans, other parts of Louisiana, and Las Vegas, which suggests the inquiry is stretching across multiple jurisdictions.

That widening scope has become central to the case. Williams said the attorney general’s office is involved because investigators want a better chance at piecing together what happened and whether the same methods were used in multiple incidents. Officials have not publicly said how many additional possible victims they have identified.

Second suspect arrested in Florida and extradited to Louisiana

White was arrested in Florida last month and is charged with robbery and fraud. He has since been extradited to Jefferson Parish, where both he and Colbert remain in custody without bond. The case has moved through several stages as detectives gathered evidence and prosecutors reviewed the broader possible pattern.

Authorities have not said exactly how the two suspects knew each other or how long investigators believe the alleged scheme had been going on. What they have said is that the messages between the two point to planning, and that the case now appears to fit a larger set of alleged crimes rather than a single isolated encounter.

What the coroner found in Manzano’s death investigation

The coroner determined that Manzano died from the combined toxic effects of Xanax and alcohol, along with positional asphyxia. Because the circumstances were uncertain, the official manner of death was left undetermined. That finding means investigators are still treating the case as unresolved even as they pursue murder and robbery allegations against the suspects.

Manzano’s death drew attention because he had traveled to Louisiana for Super Bowl coverage and was found in a hotel room during that trip. The case has since developed into what prosecutors describe as a national crime spree with possible victims in more than one state, and investigators are continuing to sort out how many other incidents may be connected.