Former Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Michael Pennel Jr. has found himself in a troubling situation ahead of the 2026 season. The 34-year-old was part of the Chiefs’ team that won back-to-back Super Bowl in 2023 and 2024. But as the veteran defensive tackle eyes the next team in the NFL, Pennel Jr. has been involved in a horrific case involving a woman’s death on his property in the Dominican Republic. However, Michael Pennel Jr. has shut down these claims, according to an ESPN report.

“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.

Two sources close to the investigation told ESPN that Pennel was a “person of interest” in the case of 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.

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.”

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.

“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.

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. 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. With a history of suspensions, fraud allegations, and abuse accusations, his NFL future looks uncertain.