Murder charge added for alleged accomplice in Kansas City reporter’s death

KENNER, La. (WVUE) - Police have upgraded charges against Rickey White in the death of Kansas City sports reporter Adan Manzano, who was found dead in a Kenner hotel room days before Super Bowl LIX.

Kenner Police announced Monday (May 5) that White, originally booked on fraud and theft-related charges, now faces second-degree murder in Manzano’s death. White remains in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Police previously arrested Danette Colbert, 48, on a second-degree murder charge in connection with Manzano’s death. Colbert was seen on surveillance video with Manzano in the French Quarter and later using his credit cards.

Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich said Manzano’s cause of death was positional asphyxia, and toxicology results showed a lethal mix of alcohol and Alprazolam (Xanax). His blood-alcohol level was .232—nearly three times the legal limit.

Although the manner of death was officially listed as “undetermined”, investigators said the combination of physical evidence, surveillance footage, and digital correspondence between Colbert and White pointed to a coordinated effort to drug and rob Manzano.

Chief Keith Conley previously said the pair had “correspondence and information going back and forth,” indicating they were “working in concert.”

Colbert and White once shared an address in Slidell and had an open domestic violence case in St. Tammany Parish.

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