ESPN Retracts Major Story Connecting NFL Player to Murder in Dominican Republic

ESPN scrubbed an entire report that connected an NFL player to a murder in the Dominican Republic after admitting the story “contained errors.”

As noted in a report from Pro Football Talk, the article was originally published on June 18. In it, ESPN revealed that the remains of Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche were found at a property previously owned by defensive lineman Michael Pennel Jr., a two-time Super Bowl champ with the Kansas City Chiefs.

ESPN also cited anonymous sources claiming Pennel knew the woman.

Sometime later, however, ESPN retracted the story and published a statement explaining why:

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. 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. Pennel’s representatives also issued a statement, which may be found here.

The statement included a link to the statement by Pennel’s legal team, which said:

Mr. Pennel had nothing to do with the death or disappearance of Ms. Roche and was never a suspect or person of interest in that investigation. He did not know her.

Mr. Pennel’s personal records including his passport and other travel documents, banking records and photographs along with their geotracking locations confirm Mike was not in the Dominican Republic in September, 2021 at the time of Ms. Roche’s disappearance, or in the weeks before or after it. Mike was in Denver, Colorado being treated for a sports injury at the time and was signed by the Atlanta Falcons on September 15, 2021.

Pennel’s legal team also revealed that multiple people were seen trespassing on the property the night the woman disappeared.

Pennel, who is now an NFL free agent, provided surveillance footage to police in the Dominican Republic.

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