Police Await Gun Tests in McNair Slaying

Ballistics, Gun Powder Residue Tests May Not Answer All Questions in Deaths of Ex-NFL Star, Girlfriend

(AP)  Investigators were waiting for ballistics tests on a gun recently bought by the girlfriend of slain former NFL star Steve McNair to determine whether the firearm found at the scene killed the two.

Police said Monday that 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi bought the handgun found under her body less than two days before the shooting.

They were found dead on the Fourth of July - McNair from two gunshots each to the head and chest, Kazemi from a single shot.

More details of their relationship and the days before their deaths came to light Monday, as the coach of the Tennessee Titans remembered McNair as the man who put the relocated Houston Oilers franchise on the map.

Kazemi appeared confident the pair would last and had introduced her family to McNair, her nephew said. Abdi quoted her as saying McNair was divorcing his wife and that it would be finalized soon.

"I think she had already put her stuff up for sale on Craigslist," Abdi said.

The first sign of trouble was early Thursday morning. Police stopped Kazemi on Broadway, not far from the honky-tonks where country singers belt out tales of unfaithful spouses. She was driving the Escalade sport utility vehicle that McNair gave her for her birthday in May.

According to an arrest affidavit, Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on her breath. She refused a breath test and told an officer "she was not drunk, she was high." She was charged with DUI. McNair was with her but not charged. He later made her bail.

The two then apparently spent some time apart.

According to police spokesman Don Aaron, McNair wasn't with Kazemi when she bought the semiautomatic pistol that was found at the scene. Police have declined to release the caliber or the name of the person who sold it to her.

The next night, McNair was out late with friends, but he and Kazemi got together soon after at a downtown condo within sight of the Titans stadium, a pad McNair shared with a friend. A witness told police the quarterback arrived between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Her car was already there.

When McNair's roommate, Wayne Neeley, got to the condo at midday, what he thought he saw was his friend sitting on the couch and Kazemi lying on the floor. So he went into the kitchen. Then he saw the blood, police said.

There were no signs of forced entry into the condo. Police labeled McNair's death a homicide Sunday but said they were reviewing every possibility before labeling Kazemi's.

Mechelle McNair, his wife of 12 years and mother of two of his four sons born between 1991 and 2004, has been described by police as very distraught about his death and has not commented.

No court records of divorce proceedings have surfaced. The strongest public evidence that the McNairs might have been estranged is that their 14,000-square-foot Nashville home has been up for sale recently, listed at $3 million.

Some close to McNair - his brother Fred and his agent Bus Cook - have said they knew nothing of Kazemi before the shootings. Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Monday, "The Steve that I knew, if he were here right now, would want to say, 'Mechelle, I love you.'"

Aaron said a solution to the case, now awaiting ballistics and gun powder residue tests, may not be as neatly resolved as people would like.

"It may be we'll never know exactly why this happened," he said.

McNair, 36, retired from the NFL last year. He had earned the respect of fellow players for shaking off defenders and injuries and the love of fans amazed at how the quarterback kept showing up for work - and winning.

He was known as Air McNair because of his passing prowess and was named to four Pro Bowls in 13 NFL seasons. He shared the NFL's MVP award with Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts in 2003. In 2000, he led the Titans to the Super Bowl, where they fell one yard short of a last-second touchdown to tie the game.

In retirement, McNair had opened a restaurant, the Gridiron9, near the Tennessee State University campus. It sells deep-fried hot dogs for $3.50, Cajun catfish sandwiches for $6.50 and Southern-style chicken strips for $6.75.

Television news footage showed McNair putting used trays away inside the eatery after dumping scraps in a trash can.

"He had a sweet spirit," Kimberly Hardy, a 25-year-old McNair admirer, said outside the restaurant, where mourners have been gathering and leaving flowers and writing notes on the front window.

The night before he died, McNair went alone to the Blue Moon Lagoon Restaurant where he met another couple around 10:30 p.m. and then left by himself about 1 a.m., said James Weathers, manager of the restaurant.

Weathers said McNair visited there occasionally and "was always alone, but he'd meet a group of friends." The manager described McNair as always friendly, "never a big drinker," gracious with constant photo-seekers.

Earlier this year, Kazemi and McNair took trips to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Key West, Fla., and Mississippi, said Abdi, the nephew. McNair had been seen at Kazemi's Nashville apartment two to three times a week, so often neighbors wondered whether he had moved in.

"They were together all the time unless he was taking his kids on vacation," Abdi said.

Kazemi was born in Iran but left in 2000, fleeing religious persecution for their Baha'i faith, Abdi said. They spent 2½ years in Turkey before moving to Florida. Later Kazemi dropped out of high school and, at age 17, moved with a boyfriend to Nashville, where she sometimes worked two or three jobs to support herself.

She liked not depending on anyone for money, and she told her nephew that McNair admired her independent nature.

"He liked her so much because they would go shopping and stuff and she would want to spend her own money," Abdi said. "The reason he said he loves her is because she's not trying to use him like other girls. She was different from other girls he had been with."

[ibsteve2u]

She refused a breath test and told an officer "she was not drunk, she was high."

Hmmm...that suggests that she had rather different expectations of American law enforcement officials than what I have.

[mkbjon]

I wish I could ask him (McNair) if it was worth it. Was it worth leaving your wife and four children without a husband and father, and worth causing the loss of your life and a young girl too stupid or naive to realize that a man who is willing to cheat and lie to his wife would do the same to you?

He seemed like a really decent guy for the most part, but he paid the ultimate price for cheating. He certainly didn't deserve to die for what he did, but it is an undeniable fact that sometimes the punishment far exceeds the "crime." He took that gamble and lost. If he had kept to his marriage vows, he might still be alive today. I've had some pretty darn good physical relationships, but NOT ONE of them was worth my life.

[specialty8]

Funny how they determined the SC case in a few hours with the gun, but this one will take a few days.

[credibility2]

McNair is just another low-life adulterer. All he cared about was his appendage. Now the truth is out about this so-called devoted husband and family man. He's a fraud, liar and human trash. He got what he deserved. If he would've been with his wife and kids, as he should have been, he'd still be alive.

[Sloughfoot]

36 and DEAD. All for a role in the hay! "DUMB" End of story.

[dsnj1-2009]

This woman seems to be another bad story of the recession, in that she felt that she needed to marry a man to care for her financially for the rest of her life. Young women-please undertsand it is much better to be alone, have a great job (which will come from a college education)-you do not need to rely on a man, and this is so sad....was this all for the chance to be able to ride in a Cadillac Escalade? GET YOUR OWN!!!! work for it, you will be able to live with yourself, and it will be worth so much more. YOU DO NOT NEED MEN FOR THIS-god we are in 2009...very sad, grow up, youth of America and take responsibility for your actions.

[ErrorInUse]

Oh please shut up. Did you not read the story. Lord, please save us all from dumbasses who speak before they read.

[ccdsswrkr09]

while I do agree with most of your post, this woman was not after his money. Read the last bit of the article:

"Kazemi was born in Iran but left in 2000, fleeing religious persecution for their Baha'i faith, Abdi said. They spent 2½ years in Turkey before moving to Florida. Later Kazemi dropped out of high school and, at age 17, moved with a boyfriend to Nashville, where she sometimes worked two or three jobs to support herself.

She liked not depending on anyone for money, and she told her nephew that McNair admired her independent nature.

"He liked her so much because they would go shopping and stuff and she would want to spend her own money," Abdi said. "The reason he said he loves her is because she's not trying to use him like other girls. She was different from other girls he had been with."
"

[TNisgoodenoughforme]

Locally I have been watching this story & I have not heard any reports of a second gun. Whatever happend in that condo on ething is for sure Steve was heck of a football player. Watching him on the field was more entertaining then a MJ video. My prayers are with his family.
Thanks Steve for all the wonderful things you did on & off the field.
Tennessee misses you.

[dwright1now]

It looks like that Steve wasn't going to divorce his wife as Sahel was led to believe and threaten him when she confronted Steve. Then just like that she popped him and then herself. Or did everyone forget about the Phil Hartman murder-suicide incident. Phil turned away not believing that Brynn would shoot him. Big mistake.

[tanker144]

Ya know, most CSI teams I see on TV finish this type of stuff up in about an hour. What's taking so long?

[45ford]

reports today say she bought 2 guns a few days before they were found dead. one of the guns was found underneath her, but the other one hasn't been found so one wonders if this case could end up taking an unexpected twist by becoming a double homicide.

the comments that her ex-boyfriend is quoted as saying that he was worried about her dating a married man and that he was hoping to get back together with her are troubling if they're true. reports also have leaked of a supposed confrontation that was instigated by the ex-boyfriend at the condo while Sahel and Steve were there.

it's also known that Sahel called her ex-boyfriend to come pick up the vehicle that was about to be impounded when she was pulled over for suspected DUI -- an incident that happened just two days before they were found dead. this would have been the same day she bought the guns.

so were the guns in the vehicle when she was pulled over? could that have been yet another reason why she wanted him to come get the vehicle? if so, did she disclose to her ex that the guns were inside the vehicle? if so, did the ex-boyfriend take one of the guns then use it to hold Sahel and Steve at bay during the supposed confrontation he instigated at the condo? if so, did the ex threaten to kill her if she didn't kill Steve with the other gun in her possession? if so, did he feel so jilted by getting dumped by her that he ended up killing her with a single shot? if so, did he flee the scene with the second gun after perpetrating the crime? again, reports are the second gun hasn't been found.

if both guns used the same caliber ammo then it will take ballistics tests to determine if the bullets retrieved from their bodies her came from the gun found at the scene or does it point to another weapon.

another scenario... the ex could have duped Sahel into believing that him and her would plot to kill Steve. then once Steve was taken out he would take her out... just like out of the movies. is that why she bought 2 guns? or were the guns truly meant for her sole use, or perhaps for use between her and Steve but she bought them in her name so Steve could avoid public scrutiny. or maybe there was a plan to take out Steve's wife.

the full truth may never be known.