The couple linked to the alleged drugging death and robbery of a television sports reporter found dead in his hotel room days before February's NFL Super Bowl had spent years using text messages to evidently coordinate drug-and-steal schemes by incapacitating others with drugs and then stealing from their financial accounts, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Danette Colbert and Rickey White, who are reportedly romantically involved, have been arrested in connection with the death of Adan Manzano, 27, outside of New Orleans.
Colbert Accused of Spiking Manzano's Drink Before Stealing His Phone, Credit Card; White Acted as an Accomplice
Colbert, 48, was booked with second-degree murder, suspecting she had given Manzano alcohol mixed with the pharmaceutical Xanax to incapacitate him before he died. She was also booked with stealing Manzano's cellphone and credit card, with White accused of acting as Colbert's accomplice to the theft allegations in particular.
According to various sources familiar with the investigation, at least three times in the four weeks before Manzano's death, Colbert and White texted about the personal identification numbers of other people's financial accounts, including one which showed a balance of more than $95,000 on an ATM's screen.
Those messages formed part of a broader dialogue between the two dating back to at least 2022 in which they also mentioned a minimum of three more pin numbers associated with other such accounts.
Colbert, White Referred to Drugs as 'Knock Outs' in Texts, Implying They Would Render People Unconscious
In some of the messages, Colbert alludes to needing "knock outs" or wishing she had "KO" – which detectives have interpreted to mean pharmaceutical pills that if mixed with alcohol could render people unconscious as well as unable to resist a robbery.
At least one message from Colbert describes her waiting for a man to fall asleep before going to the ATM and reuniting with White, 34. Another message to White recounted how Colbert was handed a cellphone by someone who was extremely intoxicated and failed to immediately notice that Colbert sent herself $8,000 from a cash-related application on the device.
Colbert was Identified as a Suspect After She was Captured on Security Cameras Entering His Hotel Room Before His Death
Police in charge of investigating Manzano's death came to suspect Colbert was involved after finding surveillance video which captured her entering his hotel room in Kenner, Louisiana, near New Orleans' airport, the last time he was seen alive during the early morning of 5 February.
Kenner police said they later caught Colbert with Manzano's cellphone as well as the credit card he used to check into his hotel before meeting her during a night out in New Orleans. Furthermore, police said they seized alprazolam – a benzodiazepine whose brand name is Xanax – at Colbert's home in the suburb of Slidell after finding Manzano dead and face-down on a pillow.
Autopsy Revealed Manzano Died Due to Toxic Cocktail of Xanax, Alcohol and Positional Asphyxia
Coroner Dr Gerry Cvitanovich has said preliminary autopsy findings have the cause of death for Manzano listed as the combined toxic effects of Xanax, which can be used as a sedative, and alcohol, along with positional asphyxia.
Meanwhile, sources told the Guardian that Colbert and White corresponded about a pin while she was with Manzano, about 20 minutes before she went into his hotel room and later left alone. The sources said Colbert and White exchanged about two dozen phone calls that morning. She allegedly used Manzano's card for a purchase of less than $9 at a local convenience store.
Colbert also purportedly tried to use the card on an ATM there but could not complete any transaction after exceeding the number of allowable pin entry attempts.
Kenner police soon jailed Colbert with stealing from and defrauding Manzano specifically. On 18 March, they added a count of second-degree murder, which can carry life imprisonment.
Police in Hollywood, Florida, captured White on 14 March on the same theft and fraud counts against Colbert. He was later extradited to the jail in Jefferson parish, Louisiana, whose jurisdiction includes Kenner, and could spend years in prison if eventually convicted as charged.
