Previous victim speaks out as police investigate Kansas City reporter’s death
KENNER, La. (WVUE) - Kenner police on Wednesday (Feb. 12) released a new photo showing Kansas City sports reporter Adan Manzano with Danette Colbert at his hotel before his death.
While authorities await Manzano’s toxicology results, investigators are looking into the possibility that Colbert drugged him.
Now, a previous victim of Colbert is speaking out about his own encounter with the convicted fraudster.
On Nov. 5, 2021, David Butler went to the French Quarter to unwind after working on a renovation project. Around 1 a.m., he met Colbert and another person.
“They were just standing around outside talking with some other people and asked me if I wanted to go in and have a drink. I was like sure,” Butler said.
He re leaving his first drink on the table while ordering another. Moments later, things took a turn.
“When I started on my second drink, I started feeling very strange just within a matter of minutes,” Butler recalled. “I was woozy. I felt like the world around me was going dark and I knew there was something really wrong.”
Butler said he knew he needed to leave. He said Colbert followed him out and offered to help him get home. He says she loaded him into an SUV.
“At that point, my decision-making abilities were significantly impaired,” Butler said.
His project manager later found him unresponsive at the renovation site after family couldn’t reach him. He was vigorously awoken and instead of going to the hospital, despite feeling drugged, he began checking his finances.
“There were multiple emails that showed cryptocurrency funds were transferred out of my bank ,” said Butler. “I later learned that Danette had used my biometrics to access my iPhone whenever I was incapacitated. That’s how she unlocked the phone.”
Butler said Colbert stole a total of $134,000 from his retirement and through credit card charges. Butler said the funds went to a crypto with a unique name, leading him to Colbert’s public Facebook page.
Butler then ed the New Orleans Police Department.
“When I met Ms. Colbert and her associate, I mean there was no mention of prostitution,” Butler said. “There was nothing that seemed inappropriate or out of the ordinary in that realm.”
Colbert was eventually caught, and last October, a jury found her guilty of theft, computer fraud, and illegally transmitting monetary funds. However, she avoided jail time. Orleans Criminal Court Judge Nandi Campbell suspended her sentence, granting her probation and ordering her to pay restitution.
“I felt like there was a grave injustice done for society and public safety,” Butler said.
Buttler says he pushed for jail time and wrote to Judge Campbell, expressing dismay over the lenient sentencing.
“Why was someone with such a history of endangering lives given yet another chance? If someone dies due to her actions in the future, their blood will undeniably be on the hands of those who allowed her to escape real ability today,” Butler’s letter read.
According to Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, Colbert was booked on similar charges in Las Vegas and Jefferson Parish.
FOX 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti said it is unclear if the judge knew Colbert’s criminal history before sentencing.
“I think the judge acted appropriately,” Raspanti said. “They went to trial, the jury found her guilty of misdemeanor theft and a low-level felony of computer fraud. The judge did not sentence her to jail, but I think that was an appropriate sentence based upon what a jury of her peers found her guilty of.”
Kenner Police also say Colbert might be connected to a December 2024 death at a French Quarter hotel.
Butler believes if Colbert were behind bars, Manzano might still be alive.
“I feel a tremendous amount of guilt because I did everything that I feel like I could have done to put her away and it didn’t happen,” Buttler said.
Judge Campbell did not respond to requests for comment, and Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams declined to comment.
On Thursday, a judge will hear a motion from the Orleans Parish DA’s Office to revoke Colbert’s probation. For now, she remains in custody in Jefferson Parish.
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