Super Bowl sports reporter Adan Manzano's unusual cause of death was released in a news conference.
According to the Associated Press, Manzano died in a New Orleans, Louisiana, suburb while in town to cover the Super Bowl for Telemundo. Manzano was "a sideline reporter with the Chiefs TV crew,"People reported.
In the March 18, 2025, news conference, coroner Dr. Jerry Satanovich said the cause of death was Xanax mixed with alcohol and positional asphyxia. The journalist was discovered face down in a pillow, the coroner said. This all left him unable to breathe, the coroner revealed.
#BREAKING: Woman charged with murder in last month's death of KC sports reporter Adam Manzano in New Orleanshttps://t.co/FhPTyf16BW#kwch12
— KWCH 12 News (@KWCH12) March 18, 2025
"Both of them are central nervous system depressants, and when you add them up they're really bad," he said, adding: "One of the dangers is you end up in a position where you are obstructing your ability to breathe."
Manzano's blood alcohol level was .232, authorities said.
According to the Office of Justice Programs, positional asphyxia is a somewhat rare phenomenon sometimes seen in in-custody deaths. It's a situation in which "body position interferes with the ability to breathe. Several pre-existing factors are identified that increase an individual's susceptibility to positional asphyxia, including cocaine-induced frenzied behavior, other drugs and/or alcohol intoxication, violent struggle resulting in restraint of subject, and unresponsiveness during or immediately after struggle."
However, The AP reported that it's not clear whether Manzano died accidentally or was murdered intentionally.
Despite the lack of clarity by the coroner over the manner of death (as opposed to the cause), Danette Colbert is now accused of second-degree murder in connection with Manzano's death, AP reported. Authorities have accused an alleged accomplice, Ricky White, of theft and fraud.
According to AP, Colbert's attorney Stavros Panagoulopoulos previously accused authorities of operating on "assumptions," however.
AP noted that police say security video captured Colbert and Manzano going to his hotel before she left without him. She is then accused of using his credit card, AP reported. People reported that police also accused her of possessing Manzano's cell phone. He died on Feb. 5 in a hotel room.
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This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM.