What started as a Super Bowl reporting trip for Kansas City journalist Adam Manzano ended in a heartbreaking tragedy.
Now, the woman at the center of the mystery, Danette Colbert—dubbed the “Bourbon Street Hustler”—is behind bars, serving a lengthy prison sentence for an entirely different case as she awaits trial for second-degree murder.
Sentenced While Awaiting Murder Trial
Danette Colbert, 48, has officially been handed a 25-year prison sentence—not for the death of Manzano, but due to a separate case involving theft and fraud.
Authorities in Louisiana successfully argued that Colbert’s long criminal history made her a repeat offender deserving of harsher punishment.
The state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill, called her a “serial fraudster” who had taken advantage of countless unsuspecting tourists and locals in New Orleans’ French Quarter over the years.
The Night Adam Manzano Died
Back in February, Colbert was arrested just two days after being seen entering a Comfort Inn hotel in Kenner, Louisiana with 27-year-old Manzano, who had traveled to New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Surveillance footage showed the two walking through the lobby together in the early hours of February 5.
Later that day, around 3 p.m., Manzano was found dead in his hotel room after coworkers requested a welfare check when he failed to appear for a scheduled meeting.
The young reporter had been lying face down on a pillow.
A toxicology report later revealed a combination of alcohol and Xanax—a potent depressant—in his system.
Suspicion Falls on Colbert
Investigators say Colbert had already left the hotel room by the time authorities arrived.
She was seen exiting twice—once at 4:45 a.m. and again at 5:21 a.m., the latter being her final departure. She even stopped by the front desk at one point to request an extra room key.
Soon after Manzano’s death, police caught her using his credit card at various stores and a gas station in New Orleans.
They later recovered Xanax from her home. According to detectives, Manzano had no known prescription for the drug.
Authorities suspect it may have been administered to him without his knowledge, a method often used to impair victims during thefts.
Another Accomplice in Custody
Colbert wasn’t acting alone, according to law enforcement.
A second suspect, identified as White, was later arrested in Hollywood, Florida.
He was found at a La Quinta Inn and is now facing a slew of Louisiana charges ranging from robbery to bank fraud.
Both he and Colbert are currently facing second-degree murder charges in Jefferson Parish, which borders New Orleans.
A Pattern of Past Crimes
Colbert’s criminal record spans multiple states and several years.
In 2022, she was twice arrested in Las Vegas for grand larceny and drugging men to rob them.
Though the cases were eventually dropped—reportedly due to the victims refusing to testify—they closely resemble the circumstances surrounding Manzano’s death.
She had even been convicted just last year in Louisiana for theft and fraud but managed to avoid prison after receiving a suspended sentence.
That leniency is now under scrutiny as she faces one of the most serious charges of her criminal career.
Remembering Adam Manzano
Manzano’s death is made even more devastating by the recent tragedies in his personal life.
Just months before his fatal trip to New Orleans, his wife, Ashleigh Boyd, died in a car crash in April 2024.
Now, the couple’s young daughter has lost both parents within a year.
Adam was a rising star in sports journalism. A Kansas State University graduate, he had recently joined the Kansas City Chiefs beat and was covering his third Super Bowl.
He was well-loved for his energy on the sidelines, and he also covered Sporting Kansas City, Big 12 basketball, and the Kansas Jayhawks.
A Case That Continues to Raise Questions
As Colbert serves time for her unrelated conviction, she and her alleged accomplice still face a murder trial that could reveal more about what really happened to Adam Manzano in that hotel room.
The toxicology reports, surveillance footage, and evidence of stolen bank cards and drugs all paint a chilling picture—but full justice may still be on the horizon.