Police investigating whether sports reporter at Super Bowl was drugged before he died
A toxicology report revealed the presence of an anti-anxiety medication in the system of the sports reporter who was found dead in his hotel room after traveling to New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl, Louisiana police said Tuesday. He did not have a prescription for the benzodiazepine, a depressant, police said.
Adan Manzano, a reporter for KGKC Telemundo Kansas City and Tico Sports, was found dead in his hotel room in Kenner, Louisiana, on Feb. 5, police said. A cause and manner of death have not been released.
“We are still awaiting the autopsy report prior to issuing an update regarding this investigation,” Deputy Chief Mark McCormick said in an email to ABC News on Tuesday.
A woman who police said was seen going into Manzano's hotel room hours before he was found dead allegedly had his cellphone and credit card in her home, according to the Kenner Police Department. The suspect -- Danette Colbert, of Slidell, Louisiana -- has been charged with property crimes, including theft and fraud-related offenses, police said.
"Colbert has an arrest history that includes similar allegations involving drugging individuals to facilitate theft," the Kenner Police Department said in a statement on Feb. 10.
Colbert was ordered held without bail on Tuesday after a judge in Jefferson Parish decided she was a flight risk and a danger, citing her prior criminal history.
Since Colbert's arrest on Feb. 6, the Kenner Police Department said it has been contacted by people "claiming to be victims or reporting suspicious deaths under similar circumstances."
"All of these complaints will be referred to the appropriate jurisdictions for further investigation," the department said.
Colbert was charged with robbery, access device fraud, illegal transmission of monetary funds, bank fraud and computer fraud in Jefferson Parish amid the investigation into Manzano's death, police said.
Investigators are "working closely with forensic experts and the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office to determine whether additional charges may be warranted," police said shortly after the arrest.
Colbert remains in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center awaiting criminal proceedings, police said. It is unclear if she has an attorney.
Police are aware of two prior instances in Nevada and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, in which Colbert was accused of drugging a victim and stealing his "access device cards and things of that nature," Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said at a press briefing shortly after the arrest.
"We're going to let the evidence lead us to the end result and not speculate," Conley said at the briefing, when asked whether authorities considered this a homicide investigation.
Surveillance video shows Manzano and Colbert at his hotel the morning of Feb. 5, police said. Colbert was seen leaving his room and coming back, then leaving again later that morning, police said. No one else entered the room and Manzano never left.
Investigators have identified locations where the two were seen together in New Orleans, police said.
KGKC Telemundo Kansas City remembered Manzano as a "true professional and a rising star."
"We will deeply miss Adan and his passion for sports, and the contributions he made to the local community," the station said.
ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
