Woman questioned after Super Bowl reporter found dead in hotel room

Police in suburban New Orleans questioned a woman Friday evening in search of clues about how a 27-year-old sports reporter from Kansas City ended up dead in his hotel room this week while on assignment to cover the Super Bowl.

Adan Manzano Aguilar, a reporter and anchor for Telemundo Kansas City and Tico Sports, was found dead Wednesday afternoon in his room at a Comfort Suites in Kenner, Louisiana, Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said Friday during a news conference.

Police on Thursday arrested Danette Colbert, a 48-year-old Louisiana woman, for allegedly using Manzano’s credit card. Conley said Colbert was known to New Orleans authorities for allegedly perpetrating previous fraud and robbery schemes.

Colbert is charged with state felony counts related to firearms and narcotics, as well as a count of misdemeanor fraud and theft, said Kenner Police Deputy Chief Mark McCormick. Conley said those charges could be upgraded after the release of a report on Manzano’s cause of death.

Colbert could not be reached for comment Friday, and it was unclear whether she had a lawyer.

“It’s important to note that Ms. Colbert’s criminal history includes two instances where she drugged a victim and stole his access device cards,” Conley said Friday of Colbert’s alleged history, which he said included charges in Louisiana and Nevada. “This brings to light that there are people out there that prey on other people and bring them into their confidence and victimize them.”

Police linked Colbert to Manzano after hotel surveillance footage captured her arriving with Manzano at his room between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. Wednesday, and leaving on her own about an hour later, Conley said. Colbert is accused of using Manzano’s credit card at stores in New Orleans. The card and his cellphone were later found at Colbert’s home in Slidell, Louisiana, a town linked to New Orleans by a bridge over Lake Pontchartrain.

McCormick, the deputy chief, said Friday evening that Colbert was in the custody of Kenner police, whose investigators were attempting to interview her. He could not confirm whether she was cooperating.

Manzano’s cause of death was pending further tests that would take at least three to four weeks to complete, said Tim Genevay, director of forensic operations for the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office. Manzano’s body showed no obvious signs of physical trauma, Genevay told the Associated Press.

Manzano’s death comes less than a year after a car crash killed his wife, 24-year-old Ashleigh Boyd, and injured their young daughter, Eleanor.

Sports communities in Kansas City and Topeka, Kansas, expressed shock and grief at Manzano’s death. He covered teams including the Kansas City Chiefs for a Spanish-language broadcast on his local Telemundo station, and pro women’s soccer team the Kansas City Current as a play-by-play caller for Tico Sports.

Telemundo Kansas City in a statement called Manzano a “rising star” at the station whose talent “reflected excellence in his work.”

At Tico Sports, Manzano’s colleagues remembered him as a team player who was “well-liked and respected,” the station said in a statement.

“Adan was a devoted father to his young daughter, a helpful colleague, and loyal friend,” the station said. “He will be greatly missed by our TICO Family and will live on in our hearts and memories.”

Relatives for Manzano could not be immediately reached Friday, though officials said the coroner’s office reached his next of kin in Mexico.