Kansas City Telemundo reporter Adam Manzano tragically died while covering Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
The original arrests was made in the case back in March when Danette Colbert was charged with second-degree murder in connection to Manzano’s death. Colbert was seen exiting Manzano’s hotel room the night he died and was later found with his credit cards and cell phone.
An additional suspect, Rickey White, was charged with a number of crimes including simple robbery, bank fraud, and computer fraud. Police believed the two to be linked in the case and working in tandem.
But now according to the Associated Press, White is also now facing second-degree murder charges in the case along with Colbert as local police have continued their investigation into the death of Adam Manzano while covering Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Police did not offer any new details about the more severe charge now facing both defendants.
Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, was found dead Feb. 5 in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. A woman seen on security video leaving Manzano’s room was later charged with second-degree murder and with stealing his credit cards and cellphone.
Kenner police announced Monday that an accomplice, 34-year-old Rickey White, has also been charged with second-degree murder. White was arrested in Florida in March on robbery and fraud charges related to Manzano’s death, then extradited to Louisiana.
Manzano was found in his hotel room after what was discovered to be a mixture of alcohol and Xanax, in spite of the fact that he had no prescription for the medicine on record. According to Louisiana law, someone can be charged with second-degree murder for distributing drugs that are linked to a cause of death or by committing other crimes, like robbery, in association with someone’s death.
The reporter had joined the local Kansas City Telemundo outlet in 2021 and was a graduate of Kansas State University. He was just 27 years old.