Trials
Colbert was convicted of negligent homicide. That is not the manslaughter count the State charged.
On Sept. 18 in Jefferson Parish, Colbert was convicted of negligent homicide and racketeering. Sentencing is set for Sept. 28, and the conviction is not the manslaughter count the State charged.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A jury can convict on a lesser homicide theory and still hang a racketeering case. On Sept. 18, 2026, in Jefferson Parish (Gretna, La.), a jury found Danette Colbert, 49, guilty of negligent homicide and racketeering in the Feb. 5, 2025 death of Kansas City sports reporter Adan Manzano, 27, who was in town for Super Bowl LIX and was found dead in a Kenner hotel room. Co-defendant Rickey White, 35, was convicted of racketeering but not of the manslaughter/homicide count. A negligent-homicide verdict is a conviction. It is not a finding that the original manslaughter caption was proved as charged.
Prosecutors said the pair and another associate targeted victims with knockout drugs and robberies. A pathologist tied alcohol and alprazolam to positional asphyxia. That is the State’s causation theory the jury heard. White’s split verdict — racketeering in, homicide out — is a reminder that each count is a separate question. One “guilty” on the form does not pull the other counts with it.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 28. A date on the calendar is not a prison term. The homicide theory that landed is the lesser one. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Nathan Lee Lowe pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and the court sentenced him to life without parole.
A guilty plea and a life term are the judgment on the counts he admitted. They are not a jury verdict, and the public accounts still do not name a weapon or a medical cause beyond trauma. WACB’s plea story says deputies found “obvious severe trauma.” WHKY, carrying that story, says “severe trauma.” The Taylorsville Times, citing Sheriff Chad Pennell the day after the 2024 arrest, said “apparent trauma” and listed Lowe’s age then as 39. The plea coverage lists him as 41.
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Reporting noted by WACB, WHKY, and Taylorsville Times.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
A Marion County jury convicted Roderick Watson Jr., and the judge sentenced him to life.
A life term after a guilty verdict is the judgment on that count. It is not a second look at the self-defense claim the jury rejected. The State Attorney's Office says deputies found four gunshot wounds. Law & Crime, citing the arrest affidavit, says six. The office's release places the school "in Citrus." WFTV places it in Citra. The name on the office's release is Jaurez. Three other outlets spell it Juarez.
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Reporting noted by Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office, WFTV, WCJB, and Law & Crime.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Judge Morgan sentenced Dylan Cody Lamb to life for killing Nadyne Marie Tillman.
Friday's order is the sentence on an August jury verdict. Keys News, citing the State Attorney's Office, reported life without parole plus two five-year terms that run together. Keys Weekly reported the verdict as second-degree murder, false imprisonment, and tampering with evidence. The Miami Herald's conviction story called one of those counts kidnapping. The judgment Keys News reported Friday used the false-imprisonment label.
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Reporting noted by Keys News, Keys Weekly, Miami Herald, NBC 6 South Florida, Monroe County State Attorney's Office, and Monroe County Sheriff's Office.