Life has a weird, sometimes cruel way of intertwining peak professional success with the deepest personal sorrow. If you’ve been following the news lately, you probably recognize the name Adan Manzano. He was the 27-year-old rising star for Telemundo Kansas City, a guy who lived and breathed sports. But behind the vibrant sideline reports and the excitement of covering the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, there was a heavy, quiet grief he carried every single day.
People often search for Adan Manzano wife to understand the man behind the microphone. Her name was Ashleigh LeeAnn Boyd Manzano. She wasn't just a "wife" in a news snippet; she was an elementary school teacher, a "ray of sunshine" to her colleagues, and the mother of their young daughter, Eleanor.
The Accident That Changed Everything
Honestly, the timeline of what happened to this family is just gut-wrenching. On April 11, 2024, Ashleigh was involved in a horrific head-on collision in Topeka, Kansas. She was just 26 years old.
Think about that for a second.
One minute, you’re a young couple with a toddler, dreaming of the future. The next, everything is shattered. Ashleigh was driving with their daughter, Eleanor, who was only 15 months old at the time. In a miracle that feels almost bittersweet given the outcome, little Eleanor survived the crash. Ashleigh did not.
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Losing a spouse at 26 is a level of trauma most of us can't even fathom. Ashleigh’s obituary described her as someone whose "sparkling personality was contagious." She spent her days molding young minds as a teacher and her evenings being a mom. For Adan, she was his foundation.
Adan as a Single Father
After the accident, Adan Manzano became a single father. It wasn’t a role he ever expected to play alone. Steve Downing, the general manager at Telemundo Kansas City, mentioned in interviews that the transition was incredibly hard on him. Grief doesn't just go away because you have a job to do.
Adan was constantly asking his colleagues for parenting advice. He was obsessed with being the "best parent he could be" because he knew Eleanor only had him left. When he wasn't on assignment covering the Chiefs or the KC Current, he was with his daughter. That was his world.
He didn't stop working, though. In fact, he leaned into it. He had this saying in Spanish: “No le tengas miedo al éxito”—don’t be afraid of success. He brought that energy to the sidelines, even while his heart was likely in pieces.
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A Second Tragedy in New Orleans
The reason the search for Adan Manzano wife has spiked recently is because of the tragic irony of Adan’s own death. Less than a year after Ashleigh passed away, Adan was found dead in a hotel room in Kenner, Louisiana, on February 5, 2025.
He was there to cover Super Bowl LIX. It was supposed to be a career highlight—a "three-peat" attempt for the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, it became the end of a very short, very impactful life.
The details coming out of the investigation are dark. Police arrested a woman named Danette Colbert, who they believe drugged and robbed him. Toxicology reports later found benzodiazepines (commonly known as Xanax) in his system—a drug he didn't have a prescription for. It’s a terrifying reminder of how vulnerable people can be, especially when they are far from home and perhaps still carrying the weight of recent loss.
The Legacy They Leave for Eleanor
What’s left now is a story of a family cut short. Ashleigh and Adan were both so young, both so full of potential.
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If there is any "actionable" takeaway from a story this heavy, it’s about the fragility of the structures we build. Adan was surrounded by a supportive community at Tico Sports and Telemundo, and that support is now directed toward his daughter.
What you can do to honor their memory:
- Support Local Journalism: Adan was passionate about bringing sports to the Spanish-speaking community. Supporting diverse voices in media keeps his mission alive.
- Check on the "Strong" Friends: Adan was a "rising star" who looked like he had it all together on camera. In reality, he was a grieving widower struggling to raise a toddler. Don't assume someone is okay just because they're performing well at work.
- Contribute to Memorial Funds: Whenever tragedies like this hit, GoFundMe pages or trust funds for surviving children (like Eleanor) often surface. If you're looking for a way to help, ensuring that Eleanor has the resources her parents wanted to provide is the most direct path.
The story of Adan and Ashleigh Manzano isn't just a "true crime" or "celebrity news" item. It’s a reminder that behind every public figure is a private life that can be filled with more struggle than we ever see on screen.