NFL free agent and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel Jr. has been named a person of interest in the death of a woman who went missing in the Dominican Republic in 2021, ESPN reported on Saturday, April 25.
Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche’s body was found earlier this year on a property that Pennel, 35, owned at the time of her disappearance.
Pennel’s attorney, Alexander Valbuena, told ESPN that his client did not know the victim, further claiming that he was not in the Dominican Republic when she went missing.
Guzmán was 22 when she disappeared in 2021 in the province of Puerto Plata. She was discovered while a worker was digging a trench in January of this year on the property that Pennel once owned. (He sold the property last year, according to ESPN.)
Pennel’s claim he has no involvement in Guzmán’s disappearance comes just two months after influencer Jhonni Blaze accused him of domestic violence linked to a past relationship. Pennel responded with a lengthy denial via Instagram, accusing Blaze of trying to extort him. Neither party reported the other to law enforcement.
Guzmán’s body was identified via a DNA sample provided by her son, who is now 8. Officials were unable to determine a cause of death but are investigating the incident as a homicide.
“This isn’t a story. I’m not legally involved,” Pennel said in a text message to ESPN. “This is fake news being reported. I’d advise you to speak with my agent/lawyer … before writing a false story. Damaging my reputation.”
Valbuena added that Pennel has requested his lawyers “offer his full cooperation to the Dominican authorities and help clarify the situation.”
Authorities did not say if there are any other persons of interest in the case.
“It is also important to clarify that we are already in communication with the authorities to clarify the situation, as Mr. [Pennel’s] primary concern and interest has been to get to the bottom of this since he learned of it,” Valbuena added.
Guzmán’s grandmother, Paula González, told ESPN that she had not been informed who owned the property where the remains were found and she had “no idea” why her granddaughter would have been there.
“She was pretty, a student, very loving,” González said. “Everyone loved her. She had lots of friends.”
Pennel has played 12 seasons in the NFL, splitting time in 2025 with the Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals. He tallied 26 tackles across 16 games.
He deactivated his Instagram account on Thursday, April 23, as unsubstantiated rumors about Pennel’s alleged involvement in Guzmán’s death began to spread, according to ESPN.
