ESPN Investigation Links Former NFL Lineman Michael Pennel to Woman Whose Body Was Found on His Former Property
An ESPN investigation reports that Michael Pennel Jr. had an ongoing relationship with Carli Guzman Roche, contradicting his statement that he did not know her. Pennel has not been charged with any crime.
An ESPN investigation published this week reports that former NFL defensive lineman Michael Pennel Jr. had an ongoing relationship with Carli Franchesca Guzman Roche, a young woman who went missing in the Dominican Republic in 2021 and whose body was later found during excavation work on a property Pennel once owned. According to ESPN, that reporting contradicts Pennel's public statements that he did not know her. Pennel has denied knowing Guzman, and as of ESPN's report no criminal charges have been filed against him.
What does ESPN's investigation report?
According to ESPN's investigation, Guzman told her grandmother in a phone call on September 5, 2021, that she was with Pennel, and her family reported her missing days later, on September 11, 2021. ESPN reports that its reporting indicates Pennel had an ongoing relationship with Guzman, which contradicts his statements that he did not know her. Pennel told ESPN, "I don't know this woman. I wasn't in the country," and denied speaking with her by video call. ESPN reports that her body was discovered in January 2026 during excavation work by the new owner of a property in the Puerto Plata resort area of the Dominican Republic that Pennel had owned and sold in 2025. The remains were identified as Guzman in March 2026, according to the report. ESPN has not stated a cause of death, and authorities have not released one.
Has Michael Pennel been charged with a crime?
No. According to ESPN, no criminal charges have been filed against Pennel as of the report's publication. ESPN cites a Dominican court document dated May 25, 2026, stating that there is no criminal lawsuit filed against him. ESPN reports that Dominican officials designated Pennel a person of interest after the remains were identified and that prosecutors are pursuing the matter as a homicide. A person of interest is not the same as a defendant, and no accusation of a specific crime against Pennel has been filed. Pennel's attorney, Ariel Duran, told ESPN that documents will exonerate Pennel while acknowledging that charges could follow given where the body was found.
How has Pennel responded?
Pennel has denied knowing Guzman, according to ESPN. He told ESPN, "I don't know this woman. I wasn't in the country," referring to the period around her disappearance, and he denied ever speaking with her on a video call. ESPN reports that its findings contradict those denials. Pennel's attorney, Ariel Duran, told ESPN that he believes documents will clear Pennel, though Duran also said he may not continue representing him because of a dispute over fees. ESPN reports that local police visited the property within days of the missing-person report in 2021 but did not expand their search there at the time. Pennel, who played defensive line for several NFL teams and signed with the Atlanta Falcons in September 2021, has not been charged.
Sources
- ESPN: Investigation - Pennel had relationship with woman whose body found; NFL vet says he didn't know her
