United States: A police detective revealed that a sedative drug was detected in the body of the New Orleans television reporter who died while working during the Super Bowl.
More about the news
Telemundo Kansas City employed 27-year-old news anchor Adan Manzano as he died inside his New Orleans hotel room during Super Bowl week in Kenner on February 5.
Video surveillance showed Danette Colbert entering Manzano’s hotel room with him before she became accused of stealing his cell phone and bank cards when she was 48 years old.
The investigation remains ongoing for Colbert, who faces various felony theft and fraud charges until both an autopsy and toxicology report becomes final, according to Kenner Police Department Deputy Chief Mark McCormick during his interview with The Associated Press.
What have the lab tests revealed?
The toxicology examination of Manzano revealed trace amounts of benzodiazepine depressants while Xanax remained the most prevalent substance under the brand Xanax, reported Kenner Police Detective Jeffrey Fitzmorris at Jefferson Parish magistrate court, according to Nola.com.
Medical records showed Manzano had no prescription for Xanax or depressant medications, yet the detective explained how the drug is typically used to steal through memory loss.
The footage from surveillance cameras captured Colbert with Manzano entering his hotel room at 5 a.m. on the day of death, then leaving Manzano alone one hour later, according to police.
Sources revealed that Colbert proceeded to make two retail transactions at New Louisiana stores after utilizing Manzano’s credit card at a gas station.
During the previous year, a Louisiana jury convicted Colbert of theft and fraud offenses in a separate case.
Public records from 2022 showed that Colbert went to jail twice in Las Vegas for the felony charges of grand larceny and administering a drug to help with felony offenses.
What are the officials stating?
The court dismissed the allegations against Colbert because both victims chose not to provide testimony in their hotel incident cases per statements from her attorney, Daniel Lippmann, to The Associated Press.
The Orleans Parish Justice Center maintains Colbert’s detention without bond due to her flight risk assessment, which was established through her criminal background records, according to McCormick.
“We believe that that will help prevent any further victimization for the public,” as he stated on Wednesday.
WWLTV reported two important occasions where Colbert failed to show up while prosecutors aimed to reschedule her court proceedings.
The February 14 court hearing needed to be postponed at the last moment because authorities moved Colbert back to the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
The defense lawyer, Stavros Panagoulopoulos, stated that authorities had assumed wrongfully that Colbert was linked to Manzano’s death.