A troubling investigation involving a former NFL player has taken another significant turn.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have identified former Houston Texans linebacker E.J. Speed as a person of interest in an ongoing homicide investigation connected to a woman who disappeared nearly five years ago.
The development comes months after human remains were discovered on property previously owned by the former NFL linebacker.
According to reports, the remains of 22-year-old Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche were found in January 2026 during excavation work on land that had been owned by Speed until 2025.
Guzmán Roche was originally reported missing in September 2021.
For more than four years, her family searched for answers regarding her disappearance.
The case remained unsolved until construction workers reportedly uncovered human remains while conducting excavation work on the property.
Dominican authorities are now treating the case as a homicide investigation.
At this time, however, no cause of death has been publicly released.
Investigative records reportedly indicate that several individuals informed police shortly after Guzmán Roche disappeared that Speed may have had connections to the missing woman.
Despite those reports, there is no indication investigators formally interviewed Speed during the initial stages of the investigation.
Records show law enforcement officers visited the area near Speed’s property with members of Guzmán Roche’s family only days after she was reported missing.
According to family members, a strong odor of decomposition was noticeable during that visit.
However, relatives claim officers believed the smell likely originated from a dead animal and did not expand their search into the area where the odor appeared strongest.
Questions surrounding the case have intensified because of statements provided by Guzmán Roche’s grandmother.
According to her account, the young woman told family members she was spending time with an athlete friend shortly before her disappearance.
The grandmother later stated that Guzmán Roche told her she was still with Speed during a phone conversation on September 5, 2021.
Family members reportedly lost contact with her shortly afterward.
Speed has strongly denied any connection to the case.
Speaking with reporters, the former Texans linebacker stated, “I don’t know this woman.”
Speed has also suggested that another individual may have had a relationship with Guzmán Roche.
According to previous police records, that individual reportedly told investigators in 2021 that he and Speed had experienced a falling out months earlier because of a dispute involving a woman.
Speed, who spent time with Houston during his professional career, has not been charged with any crime.
Authorities have not accused him of homicide.
However, officials continue to describe him as a person of interest as the investigation remains active.
The discovery of Guzmán Roche’s remains has renewed attention on a case that remained unresolved for years.
As investigators continue gathering evidence and reviewing witness statements, many questions surrounding the circumstances of her disappearance remain unanswered.
For now, Dominican authorities continue pursuing the case while determining exactly what happened to Carli Franchesca Guzmán Roche.
Stay tuned to ESPN.
