The veteran NFL defensive tackle Michael Pennel Jr. has been reportedly involved in the ongoing investigation surrounding the disappearance of Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche, whose body was recently found earlier this year. At that time, Pennel reportedly admitted that he didn’t know Guzmán. But ESPN’s latest report has added another layer to it, as the DT remains “person of interest” in the case.

According to ESPN’s report, witnesses told police in 2021 that Pennel knew Guzmán and was in a relationship with her. They further claimed that the two spent time together when the veteran defensive tackle was in the Dominican Republic, where he owned a property in the resort area of Puerto Plata until 2025. At the time, however, Pennel claimed the report as “fake news.”

“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,” he said.

Before publishing the report on Thursday, ESPN reached out to Pennel for comments. However, the 35-year-old didn’t respond. But once the report was published, he reached out to the outlet via an attorney, Ariel Durán.

“I don’t understand any of this. I don’t know who you’re talking to, who’s saying this — I don’t know this woman. I wasn’t in the country (when Guzmán disappeared),” Pennel said.

Pennel’s attorney has acknowledged that his client has nothing to do with the incident. However, Durán also added that Pennel could face the charges, given that Guzmán’s body was found on Pennel’s Dominican Republic property. ESPN’s report surfaced years after the Guzmán family reported her disappearance in September 2021. Later in January 2026, her body was eventually found at Pennel’s old property, which he had sold in 2025, when the new owners were doing the excavation work.

A couple of months later, in March, the authorities identified Guzmán’s body by using her son’s DNA, who is now 8. As those reports came to the surface, Pennel was labeled as a “person of interest” in the victim’s death. For now, the case is being treated as a homicide.

But at the time of her disappearance, Guzmán’s grandmother repeatedly urged authorities to investigate Pennel’s property in an effort to determine the victim’s whereabouts.

The victim’s grandmother reported an odor of decay at Michael Pennel Jr.’s property in 2021

According to ESPN, Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche’s grandmother, Paula González, and an attorney told the network that they reported a strong odor of decomposition at Michael Pennel Jr.’s property after Guzmán went missing.

However, authorities reportedly concluded that the smell likely came from a dead animal. As a result, police did not expand the search to the area where the odor was originating, which was Pennel’s backyard. In fact, per ESPN, Pennel’s two associates told the police about spraying the property for pests, which probably caused the smell. Pennel later acknowledged that the authorities didn’t reach out to him about the victim’s disappearance.

The 35-year-old defensive tackle has been in the league for over a decade now. He had just signed with the Atlanta Falcons at the time of Guzmán’s disappearance. For now, Pennel is unsigned ahead of the 2026 season. How his reported involvement in the ongoing investigation would affect his future remains to be seen.