Adan Manzano, 27, was in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl when his body was found in his hotel room.
A Louisiana woman accused in a string of druggings of men whom she defrauded was charged on Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of Adan Manzano, a Telemundo reporter whose body was found in a New Orleans hotel room in February while he was in town to cover the Super Bowl.
The woman, Danette Colbert, 48, was the last person to be seen with Mr. Manzano before his death on Feb. 5, security camera footage from his hotel showed. She was arrested the next day by the police in Kenner, La., and initially charged with the theft of his cellphone and one of his credit cards, which the authorities said she had used to make several purchases.
Mr. Manzano, 27, died from the combined toxic effects of the prescription drug Xanax and alcohol, in addition to positional asphyxia, which is when someone’s physical position prevents them from breathing, according to the results of a preliminary autopsy that were released during a news conference on Tuesday.
His manner of death still has not been determined, said Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, the Jefferson Parish coroner. He said that Mr. Manzano, who had been slated to cover his third straight Super Bowl, had been found with his head face down in a pillow and that his blood-alcohol content was .232 percent, which is nearly four times the legal driving limit.
Second-degree murder in Louisiana carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
