Toddler Orphaned After Parents Die in Separate Tragedies; Father Killed by Couple Luring Men for Sex
A young girl lost her mother in a fatal car crash and her father was later drugged and murdered, leading to a court case involving a prostitute and her pimp.
A three-year-old girl has been adopted after her father was found dead in a New Orleans hotel room, nearly ten months after her mother died in a car crash. The child, Eleanor, lost her mother, Ashleigh Boyd, 24, on April 11, 2024, in Topeka, Kansas, when a speeding driver, Todd W. Armstrong, 53, crashed into her head-on while driving on the wrong side of the road. Boyd was pronounced dead at the scene, while Eleanor sustained injuries.
Eleanor's father, Adan Manzano, 27, an anchor for Telemundo, died on February 5, 2025, in a hotel in Kenner, Louisiana. Investigators determined Manzano suffocated to death after being drugged by Danette Colbert, 49, and Rickey White, 35, a couple who preyed on men seeking sexual encounters. Colbert was sentenced to 60 years in prison for negligent homicide and racketeering, while White, identified as Colbert's pimp, received a 45-year sentence for racketeering.
Manzano had been in New Orleans to report on the Super Bowl. An autopsy revealed his death was caused by a combination of alcohol, benzodiazepines, and positional asphyxia, having suffocated with his face in a pillow. Assistant District Attorney Jenny Voss stated that Colbert filmed videos, including from Manzano's hotel room while he was dying or dead, and used his stolen cell phone to record information about the Super Bowl, including details of team accommodations.
Armstrong was convicted of vehicular homicide, driving on the wrong side of the road, and speeding in connection with Boyd's death. His sentencing is scheduled for November. Court records indicated that Armstrong's truck had been parked at a casino for five hours prior to the crash, and a urine drug screening showed cocaine metabolites, though this result was omitted from evidence during his trial. Armstrong's defense claimed the crash was due to mechanical failure or a blown tire, but officials found no evidence to support this.
Boyd's father, Brian Hinck, and his wife, Nicole, are now raising Eleanor. The grandparents have explained that Eleanor is too young to comprehend the full details of her father's death. They are contemplating how to introduce her to the circumstances of his passing and are concerned she may discover them through internet searches. The adoptive parents have stated they will need to discuss the situation with her before she learns about it independently.