A young woman vanished in the Dominican Republic in September 2021. More than two years later, a worker digging a trench on a property once owned by two-time Super Bowl champion Mike Pennel unearthed her remains. Now Dominican authorities have reopened the case, and the 12-year NFL veteran is a person of interest in what investigators are treating as a homicide.
Pennel, a defensive tackle who most recently played for the Kansas City Chiefs, has denied any connection to the dead woman. But witness statements and documents uncovered by ESPN's investigation tell a different story, one that places Pennel in direct contact with the victim before she disappeared.
Guzmán Roche was 22 years old when she was declared missing on September 13, 2021, after family members had not heard from her for eight days. She lived near Pennel's former home in Sosúa, a coastal town in the Dominican Republic. Her body was discovered in January 2024 when a new property owner began excavation work on the land Pennel had previously owned, the Daily Mail reported.
The discovery turned a missing-persons case into something far darker. Dominican authorities opened a homicide investigation, and two Dominican sources identified Pennel as a person of interest, the New York Post reported.
When ESPN contacted Pennel, he pushed back hard. In a text message to the network, he wrote:
"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 also told media directly that he had no idea who the woman was. "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, Breitbart reported.
But ESPN's investigation surfaced witnesses and documents that contradict those denials. The reporting revealed that Pennel likely knew Guzmán Roche and had a relationship with her, a finding that undercuts his claim of total ignorance.
Pennel's former neighbor, Tyree Lamont Davis, told police he last saw Guzmán Roche with Pennel at the Santo Domingo airport in January 2021, months before she disappeared. That places the two together in a specific location at a specific time, well within the window leading up to her vanishing.
The victim's grandmother provided another piece of the puzzle. She told police that Pennel would send a taxi to pick up the young woman when he visited the island and that the two spent significant time together. That account describes not a chance encounter but a pattern of contact, one Pennel has publicly denied existed.
Investigators will need to determine when Pennel was last on the island relative to Guzmán Roche's disappearance, whether his travel records align with his public statements, and what forensic evidence the burial site may have yielded.
Pennel is no fringe roster player. He spent 12 seasons in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is currently a free agent. Fox News noted that Pennel also has a history of NFL suspensions for substance-abuse violations, a detail that speaks to prior league discipline though not to the facts of this case.
His Dominican attorney, Alexander Valbuena, offered a more measured public response than Pennel's own combative texts. Valbuena stated that his team was "already in communication with the authorities to clarify the situation" and that Pennel's "primary concern and interest has been to get to the bottom of this since he learned of it."
The case adds to a troubling pattern of current and former professional athletes facing serious criminal scrutiny. A former Alabama lineman was recently charged in a $19.8 million loan fraud scheme involving elaborate disguises, and the legal troubles of active players continue to surface across leagues.
Being designated a "person of interest" in the Dominican Republic does not carry the same procedural weight as a formal charge. Pennel has not been charged with any crime. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether they possess physical evidence linking him to Guzmán Roche's death, and no arrest warrant has been reported.
Dominican homicide investigations operate under a civil-law system that differs from the American common-law model. Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic hold broad investigative authority and can compel witness testimony, but extradition proceedings for a U.S. citizen would involve diplomatic and legal channels that can stretch for months or years.
The Kansas City Chiefs organization, which celebrated another Super Bowl title with Pennel on the roster, has not publicly commented on the investigation. Fellow Chiefs player Rashee Rice has faced his own legal battles, including a case in which a co-defendant was hit with a $2.88 million default judgment stemming from a Dallas crash.
Authorities have not publicly released cause-of-death findings for Guzmán Roche. Investigators have not said whether forensic analysis of the remains has been completed or what condition the body was in after more than two years underground. No public results have been released about DNA or trace evidence recovered from the burial site.
It also remains unclear when Pennel sold the Sosúa property, who purchased it, and whether the sale occurred before or after Guzmán Roche's disappearance. Those details could prove critical in establishing a timeline of access to the land where her body was found.
The broader question of accountability for professional athletes overseas is not new, but cases like this one test whether foreign justice systems can effectively investigate wealthy American suspects who may have left the jurisdiction. A former NBA player recently pleaded guilty in a federal gambling sweep, a reminder that league fame does not place anyone above the law.
For Guzmán Roche's family, the discovery of her body ended one nightmare and started another. Her grandmother's willingness to speak to police about the taxi rides and the time spent with Pennel suggests a family that watched a relationship unfold and now wants answers about how it ended.
The gap between Pennel's flat denials and the witness accounts is wide enough that Dominican prosecutors apparently found reason to reopen the case and elevate his status. Whether that gap narrows or widens will depend on evidence that has not yet been made public.
Tragic cases involving young people and powerful figures demand thorough investigation regardless of borders. A college basketball player was recently killed in a hit-and-run with the driver still at large, a reminder that justice delayed is too often justice denied for victims and their families.
A 22-year-old woman disappeared. Her body turned up buried on a property owned by a man who says he never knew her. Witnesses say otherwise. The rest is up to investigators who now carry the weight of proving what happened on that land in Sosúa.
