At a time as crucial as free agency, stories framed off the field affect a player’s future as much as on-field stats do. And if we go by that, NFL defensive nose tackle Michael Pennel Jr., although part of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning rosters (2023 & 2024), but now linked by investigators to a homicide case, is far from a safe spot.

A woman’s body was found on a property he previously owned, and Pennel Jr. was connected to the location during the time she disappeared. Enough for investigators to consider him a “person of interest.” However, Pennel Jr. and his lawyers are strongly pushing back against any claims or speculation circulating at this time.

“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,” Pennel Jr. said, as reported by ESPN‘s T. J. Quinn and Juan Recio.

Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche, a 22-year-old who went missing on September 13, 2021, in Sosúa, where the 34-year-old owned a property in a gated community. The national attorney general’s office, per ESPN, confirmed there had been no contact with her since September 5, and local authorities conducted search operations for her throughout the province of Puerto Plata. According to Pennel’s attorney, the veteran defensive tackle did not know Guzmán and was not in the country at the time she disappeared.

The report further shared that Pennel sold his property last year, and the body was discovered while a worker was digging a trench in January. The body was only identified after officials compared her DNA to a sample from her now eight-year-old son. Although a cause of death hasn’t been released, the attorney general’s office confirmed: “Authorities are pursuing Guzmán’s case as a homicide.” Officials also described the investigation as being in its early stages after the identification of the remains earlier this year.

As the details about the case continue to unravel, Pennel has revealed that Dominican authorities haven’t yet contacted him, and his lawyer, Alexander Valbuena, shared that the former Chiefs nose tackle will offer “full cooperation to the Dominican authorities”, according to ESPN.

As the case reopened shortly after they found Guzman’s body on the property, the attorney general’s office confirmed that interview procedures involving “foreigners” had started. Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether there are additional persons of interest connected to the case.

However, his Instagram account was also deactivated this week after unverified reports linking him to Guzmán’s death circulated on Dominican media platforms and social media.

“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 said, per the report.

When the incident first occurred five years ago, Michael Pennel Jr. was released by the Chicago Bears on August 31, 2021, before signing with the Atlanta Falcons on September 15. This stint with the Falcons was the sixth team in his NFL career, a number that has since risen to seven with the addition of the Bengals after making his debut in the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers. Pennel most recently split time between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs during the 2025 season and currently remains a free agent.

While the investigation continues, this won’t be the first time Michael Pennel Jr. has been involved in legal and administrative issues with the former Chiefs nose tackle, even facing the scrutiny of the league for his actions.

Has ex-Chiefs DT Michael Pennel Jr. faced legal charges before?

Michael Pennel Jr. has found himself dealing with various legal charges throughout his 12-year NFL career. The league handed the 34-year-old three suspensions for violating the substance abuse policy. League records show two of those suspensions came in 2016 and another later in his career under the same policy. In 2024, the widow of former NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins filed a lawsuit against Pennel, alleging that he defrauded her of $275,000 in a dog breeding enterprise conducted in the Dominican Republic.

Additionally, singer and social media influencer Jhonni Blaze, in March 2026, accused Pennel of physically abusing her. Pennel denied the allegations, asserting that Blaze was attempting to extort money from him. Neither party has reported its allegations to law enforcement authorities.

Michael Pennel Jr. faces serious legal trouble as a person of interest in a Dominican Republic homicide case. However, authorities have not announced any charges against him, and investigators have indicated the case remains in an early stage following the identification of Guzmán’s remains earlier this year. With a history of suspensions, fraud allegations, and abuse accusations, his NFL future looks uncertain.