Earlier last month, a June 18 ESPN report connected free-agent DL Mike Pennel to an active murder case. But then, a few days later, the network pulled the report, noting that the original copy “contained errors.”

As a correction, ESPN published a new report titled “ESPN update to Michael Pennel Jr. story.” In the update, the network noted that Pennel’s representatives sent across travel and financial records proving “that he was not in the Dominican Republic at the time the woman disappeared.”

Pennel’s representative, attorney Brian Wainger, also issued a statement clarifying the situation:

“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,” the statement read. “He did not know her.”

In his statement, Wainger also clarified that, “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.

“Mr. Pennel’s Dominican attorney, Cesar A. Duran, never told anyone he expected Mr. Pennel to be arrested. 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. Mr. Pennel saved the video surveillance and shared it with the Dominican authorities who did not know it existed.”

The situation first developed when ESPN published a report noting that the remains of the deceased Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche were found in January on a Puerto Plata property that Pennel previously owned. At the time when the reports came out, Pennel denied any connection to the case and sent a message to ESPN,

“This isn’t a story. I’m not legally involved,” Pennel wrote to ESPN in a text message at the time. “This is fake news being reported. I’d advise you to speak with my agent/lawyer… before writing a false story. Damaging my reputation.”

ESPN, in its now-deleted report, noted that sources described an ongoing relationship between Pennel and Guzmán Roche whenever he visited the island.

In its new update, the publication has added a detailed clarification on the matter, adding,

“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.”