NFL veteran Michael Pennel Jr. is disputing an ESPN investigation that says witnesses told police he had an ongoing relationship with Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche before her body was found on property he once owned in the Dominican Republic.
Pennel, currently a free agent, told ESPN after the story was published that he did not know Guzmán, whose body was discovered in January 2026 after she had been reported missing in September 2021.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Pennel said. “I don’t know this woman. I wasn’t in the country.”
His Dominican attorney, Ariel Durán, told the news outlet that Pennel had nothing to do with Guzmán’s death and said documents will clear him.
According to ESPN, people close to Guzmán and police records reviewed by the outlet said she and Pennel spent time together when he visited the Dominican Republic. Guzmán’s grandmother, Paula González, told them her granddaughter referred to him as “el futbolista,” meaning “the football player.” González said she recognized Pennel from a photo, telling ESPN, “Strongly, no doubt.”
Pennel denied speaking with Guzmán on video or meeting her family. He also said authorities never contacted him in 2021.
Dominican officials reopened the case after Guzmán’s body was identified in March and prosecutors are pursuing the case as a homicide, though no cause of death has been released. A court certification reviewed by ESPN said no criminal lawsuit had been filed against Pennel as of May 25, 2026.
