{"id":180295,"date":"2026-04-25T23:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295"},"modified":"2026-04-25T23:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:21:12","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-nfl-shockwave-2x-super-bowl-champion-linked-to-gruesome-murder-investigation-from-gridiron-glory-to-a-dark-unfolding-scandal-that-could-shake-the-league-to-its-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs are learning of some extremely disturbing news regarding one of their two-time Super Bowl champions.\u00a0 The news started to surface on Friday evening and was later verified by multiple sources. A long-time starter and key contributor to two championships, is now a person of interest in a murder investigation.<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n

Here are the details.<\/p>\n

Also Read: \u201cThis Is Weird Behavior\u201d NFL Quarterback\u2019s Wife Instagram DM\u2019s Rookie Draft Pick (Details)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Chiefs'
Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a Kansas City Chiefs helmet during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chiefs 2-Time Super Bowl Champ Suddenly At Center Of Murder Investigation<\/h2>\n

ESPN reported that the body of a woman who has been missing in the Dominican Republic since 2021 was discovered earlier this year on a property owned by NFL veteran Michael Pennel Jr. at the time of her disappearance.<\/p>\n

On the condition of anonymity, the sources said Pennel is considered to be a person of interest:<\/p>\n

An attorney for Pennel said the player did not know the woman and was not in the country at the time she disappeared. In a text message response to ESPN, Pennel labeled the story \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carli Franchesca Guzm\u00e1n Roche was 22 when she was declared missing Sept. 13, 2021, after recently moving to the northern coastal tourist town of Sos\u00faa, where Pennel had a home in a gated community. The national attorney general\u2019s office said in a statement that she had not been heard from since Sept. 5 and that the search for her covered the entire province of Puerto Plata.<\/p>\n

Two sources close to the investigation said Pennel sold his property last year, and the body was discovered while a worker was digging a trench in January. Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s body was only recently identified after officials compared her DNA to a sample from her son, who is now 8.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Chiefs'
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel Jr. (69) against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Officials did not release a cause of death, but the attorney general\u2019s office said authorities are pursuing Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s case as a homicide.<\/p>\n

Responding to a text, Pennel said, \u201cThis isn\u2019t a story. I\u2019m not legally involved. This is fake news being reported. I\u2019d advise you to speak with my agent\/lawyer \u2026 before writing a false story. Damaging my reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pennel, 34, played for the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0and\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0last season and is a free agent.<\/p>\n

His Dominican attorney, Alexander Valbuena, said Pennel asked his lawyers \u201cto offer his full cooperation to the Dominican authorities and help clarify the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pennel told ESPN on Saturday morning that he has not been contacted by Dominican authorities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to the attorney general\u2019s office, the case has been reopened since Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s identification. Investigators were interviewing \u201cforeigners\u201d in the investigation, according to the office.<\/p>\n

Pennel has encountered a number of legal and administrative issues. According to NFL records, he has been suspended three times for violating the league\u2019s substance abuse policy, twice in 2016 and once in 2020. The widow of NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins filed a lawsuit against him in 2024, alleging that he defrauded her of $275,000 for a dog breeding business he operated in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

A recent public spat between Pennel and social media influencer and singer Jhonni Blaze led to accusations of physical abuse. The accusation was denied by Pennel, who accused Blaze of extortion. No law enforcement agency was notified of their accusations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs are learning of some extremely disturbing news regarding one of their two-time Super Bowl champions.\u00a0 The news started to surface on Friday evening… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":180296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Kansas City Chiefs are learning of some extremely disturbing news regarding one of their two-time Super Bowl champions.\u00a0 The news started to surface on Friday evening...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\",\"name\":\"MrThanh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrThanh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA","og_description":"The Kansas City Chiefs are learning of some extremely disturbing news regarding one of their two-time Super Bowl champions.\u00a0 The news started to surface on Friday evening...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrThanh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrThanh","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295","name":"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T23:21:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/avtnew-55-2.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180295#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\ud83d\udea8 NFL SHOCKWAVE: 2\u00d7 Super Bowl Champion Linked to Gruesome Murder Investigation \u2014 From Gridiron Glory to a Dark, Unfolding Scandal That Could Shake the League to Its Core"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec","name":"MrThanh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrThanh"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180297,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180295\/revisions\/180297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/180296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}