{"id":115431,"date":"2026-04-25T21:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/sources-michael-pennel-jr-person-of-interest-in-d-r-death\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T21:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:08:47","slug":"sources-michael-pennel-jr-person-of-interest-in-d-r-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/sources-michael-pennel-jr-person-of-interest-in-d-r-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Sources: Michael Pennel Jr. person of interest in D.R. death"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Apr 25, 2026, 01:30 PM ET<\/span><\/div>\n

The body of a woman missing in the Dominican Republic since 2021 was discovered earlier this year on a property that was owned by NFL veteran Michael Pennel Jr.<\/a> at the time she disappeared, two Dominican sources close to the investigation told ESPN.<\/p>\n

The sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Pennel is considered a person of interest in the case.<\/p>\n

An attorney for Pennel said the player did not know the woman and was not in the country at the time she disappeared. In a text message response to ESPN, Pennel labeled the story “fake news.”<\/p>\n

Carli Franchesca Guzm\u00e1n Roche was 22 when she was declared missing Sept. 13, 2021, after recently moving to the northern coastal tourist town of Sos\u00faa, where Pennel had a home in a gated community. The national attorney general’s office said in a statement that she had not been heard from since Sept. 5 and that the search for her covered the entire province of Puerto Plata.<\/p>\n

Two sources close to the investigation said Pennel sold his property last year, and the body was discovered while a worker was digging a trench in January. Guzm\u00e1n’s body was only recently identified after officials compared her DNA to a sample from her son, who is now 8.<\/p>\n

Officials did not release a cause of death, but the attorney general’s office said authorities are pursuing Guzm\u00e1n’s case as a homicide.<\/p>\n

Responding to a text, Pennel said, “This isn’t a story. I’m not legally involved. This is fake news being reported. I’d advise you to speak with my agent\/lawyer … before writing a false story. Damaging my reputation.”<\/p>\n

Pennel, 34, played for the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> and Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> last season and is a free agent.<\/p>\n

His Dominican attorney, Alexander Valbuena, said Pennel asked his lawyers “to offer his full cooperation to the Dominican authorities and help clarify the situation.”<\/p>\n

Pennel told ESPN on Saturday morning that he has not been contacted by Dominican authorities.<\/p>\n