A detective investigating the death of a Telemundo reporter in New Orleans testified Tuesday that the journalist was found to have a commonly used anti-anxiety drug in his system that he did not have a prescription for, a Jefferson Parish official confirmed to NBC News.
Adan Manzano was found to have Alprazolam, a drug often sold under the brand name Xanax, in his body when he died this month, the official said, citing the detective.
The investigator testified at a bond hearing Tuesday in a Jefferson Parish courtroom.
The detective attributed the result to a preliminary toxicology report and said the same drug was found at the home of Danette Colbert, the suspect arrested in connection with Manzano’s death, the official said.
Colbert, 48, has a lengthy criminal history that includes allegations of drugging men and stealing tens of thousands of dollars from them via cryptocurrency and other accounts linked to their phones.Colbert's lawyers have not responded to requests for comment. During the bond hearing, an attorney for Colbert said she should not be judged on her criminal history, NBC affiliate WDSU of New Orleans reported.
The Jefferson Parish judge who presided over the hearing called Colbert "a danger to society" and denied her bond, WDSU reported.
The detective did not say how much of the drug was found in Manzano’s system or provide a possible cause or manner of death, according to the official. It is not clear when or how the drug got into Manzano's body.
In addition to treating anxiety and panic disorders, Alprazolam can be used as a sedative or a muscle relaxant, and it can lead to an overdose when it is mixed with alcohol.
The Kenner Police Department, which is investigating Manzano's death, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Neither did the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office.
Colbert has been charged with theft and other crimes in the death of Manzano, who was based in Kansas City and was in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl. His body was found Feb. 5 at a hotel in Kenner, west of New Orleans.
Security video captured Colbert entering Manzano's hotel room with him at 4:35 a.m., leaving, then returning again before she left for good at 6 a.m., police have said. Manzano's body was found that afternoon.
A device authorities believe to be Manzano's cellphone was found at Colbert's home, police officials have said, and she is alleged to have used his credit card at a store in the New Orleans area.
Colbert was previously charged in at least five other cases in two states that include similar allegations. In two other cases, men who were visiting New Orleans told NBC News that they believe she stole thousands from them after she posed as an Uber driver and swiped their phones.
Since her arrest in Manzano's death, Kenner police have heard from victims or their relatives in at least a dozen other cases possibly linked to Colbert, Deputy Police Chief Mark McCormick has said.
McCormick said authorities now suspect Colbert had a part in the death of John Jenkins, 55, who was visiting New Orleans from Maryland in December and was found unresponsive in a hotel room on Dec. 15. An autopsy attributed his cause of death to combined cocaine and ethanol toxicity and ruled it accidental.
It is not clear what possible evidence authorities may have uncovered in the investigation.
