Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel (69) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium.
On June 18, ESPN published a bombshell report that tied Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel to the death of Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche in the Dominican Republic.
The report claimed that Pennel and Roche were previously in a relationship, and that Roche’s body was discovered in the walls of a property that was previously owned by Pennel.
“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 reportedly told ESPN at the time.
It sounded like a dubious denial at the time, especially given claims the report went on to make about their relationship and Pennel’s whereabouts.
However, there’s now a major twist.
On Wednesday, ESPN quietly put out a report titled “ESPN update to Michael Pennel Jr. story.” But that headline isn’t exactly accurate. It wasn’t an update to the initial report, but rather a major retraction.
ESPN Retracts Report About Mike Pennel After It ‘Contained Errors’
The update, which the link to the initial story now redirects to, is that the story appears to have been incorrect about several key findings.
“On June 18, 2026, ESPN published a story about Michael Pennel Jr. and an investigation into the death of a woman in the Dominican Republic who disappeared on September 5, 2021,” it reads. “ESPN has determined the story contained errors and has removed it. Since the publication of the story, Pennel’s representatives have provided ESPN with documentation, including travel and financial records, supporting Pennel’s statements to ESPN that he was not in the Dominican Republic at the time the woman disappeared.”
ESPN also linked to a statement from Pennel’s representatives.
The statement from Kaleo Legal states that Pennel was never a suspect or person of interest in that investigation and never knew the woman. Additionally, it provided evidence showing Pennel was not in the Dominican Republic when the woman disappeared, and that his Dominican attorney, Cesar A. Duran, never told anyone he expected Mr. Pennel to be arrested, despite the report claiming otherwise.
“Mr. Pennel owned but never lived in the property where the remains of Ms. Roche were found. Mr. Pennel’s video surveillance system captured several people unlawfully trespassing on the property the night Ms. Roche disappeared,” the statement reads.
Additionally, “Mr. Pennel saved the video surveillance and shared it with the Dominican authorities who did not know it existed.”
In the wake of ESPN issuing a retraction, BroBible.com has also pulled down an earlier story discussing ESPN’s initial reporting.
Pennel played for both the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals last season.