Overview
- Dominican prosecutors reopened the case after remains of Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche, who disappeared in September 2021, were found on a Puerto Plata property Pennel owned until 2025.
- ESPN published a detailed June 18 report that tied Pennel to the case and then removed that story on Wednesday after determining it contained errors.
- Pennel’s representatives gave ESPN passport entries, banking records, geotagged photographs, and an attorney statement saying those documents place him in Denver in September 2021 and show he was not on the island.
- Pennel’s legal team also says surveillance footage from the Dominican property shows trespassers the night Roche vanished and that local authorities issued a certificate saying he is not currently the subject of criminal charges.
- The media retraction resolves some reporting claims but does not close the legal matter because Dominican investigators continue to treat Roche’s death as an active homicide inquiry and could still pursue charges.