NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 8, 2009
McNair's Girlfriend Behind Murder-Suicide
Cops: Cash-Strapped and Jealous 20-year-old Shot NFL Star in his Sleep, then Killed Herself
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(AP)
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Photo Essay Remembering Air McNair Steve McNair, a 3-time Pro Bowler and former quarterback who led the Titans to the Super Bowl, was found dead.
Sahel Kazemi "was spinning out of control" when she shot McNair four times as he dozed on a sofa early Saturday, then turned the gun on herself, Police Chief Ronal Serpas said.
Interviews with friends revealed that she was making payments on two cars, her rent was doubling and she suspected the married McNair was having a second affair with another young woman.
She told a friend on Friday that "My life is a ball of s--- and I should end it," Serpas said.
Police earlier had labeled McNair's death a homicide, but waited for further tests and the revelations about Kazemi's personal problems before concluding that she pulled the trigger of a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in a condominium McNair rented with a friend.
One of the first people to see the bodies in the condominium dialed 9-1-1, but hung up. Click here to listen to the conversation he had with the 9-1-1 emergency operator in Nashville, who called him back and stayed on the line until police arrived.
McNair, 36, a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans most of his career, met Kazemi six months ago at a sports cafe where she was a waitress and his family often ate. She seemed happy and eager to build a life with him, but something went wrong.
"We do know that she was clearly sending a message during the last five to seven days of her life that things were going bad quickly," Serpas said, though there was no indication she told anyone she planned to harm McNair.
Serpas said detectives learned that Kazemi recently found out about another young woman she thought McNair was romantically involved with and had even followed that woman home, though she did not confront her.
Serpas said police believe McNair was asleep when he was killed because there were no defensive wounds. After shooting McNair in the head, Kazemi apparently shot him twice in the chest before shooting him again in the head.
Before shooting herself, she sat next to his body and "tried to stage it so she would fall in his lap," Serpas said. She did, but her body slid to the floor and ended up at McNair's feet. The gun was found underneath her.
Kazemi's family told reporters that the woman was so confident McNair was divorcing his wife of 12 years that she was preparing to sell her furniture and move in with him.
But associate Mike Mu, who has worked with McNair's charitable association for years, said earlier Wednesday that McNair's wife, Mechelle McNair, "didn't know who this girl is." No records of divorce proceedings have surfaced. The McNairs have four children.
Two days before the shooting, police stopped Kazemi driving a Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle that McNair had given 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.
Serpas said that even though both her name and McNair's were on the Cadillac's title, she was apparently responsible for making payments. She was also making payments on another car after she couldn't sell it.
Kazemi had no history of violence, but "on the last several days of her life it's obvious that she made some very poor decisions," Serpas said.
Mechelle McNair has not spoken publicly since the shooting. Bishop Joseph W. Walker III of Mount Zion Baptist Church, which the McNairs have attended since moving to Nashville in 1997, said Wednesday that she is doing as well as can be expected.
"Her faith is what's sustaining her now," he said. "We haven't talked about the circumstances of his death. She is processing it in a private way. It's obviously devastating on so many levels."
A memorial service is set for Thursday night in Nashville, with the funeral Saturday in his native Mississippi.
The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback was being remembered Wednesday at the stadium where he played much of his career. The Tennessee Titans opened LP Field for fans to watch video highlights of McNair's 13-year NFL career and look at photos of the quarterback. There was also a book for them to write messages that will be given to the family.
McNair was known as "Air McNair" for his passing prowess at Alcorn State in Mississippi. In 2000, he helped lead the Titans to the Super Bowl, where they ended up a yard short of a touchdown on the last play of the game when they trailed by seven points.
He spent the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before retiring from the NFL last year.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 78 CommentsSomehow women like her, though, always think that he's so in love with them that they're the one that he'll stay with forever. WRONG! Most men that cheat on their wives eventually cheat on their girlfriends too because they get bored and want to move on or they are delusional and think that they can handle and satisfy more than one woman at a time. They are players. They don't usually stay with one woman for very long.
Obviously she couldn't stand the idea of losing him to another woman or having to share him so she thought that if she couldn't have him no one could and she killed him and then killed herself.
This should be a lesson to cheaters! First of all don't cheat on your wives! If you do at least have sense enough to not to cheat with someone who is insane!
"And again, males can't keep their pants zipped and think everybody should still glorify them when they throw their kids and wives over for bimbos who will stroke their PRECIOUS ego's.... "
Maybe if american women were not so selfish and useless they could keep their men happy. American women are complete trash. Nobody in the world wants them.
Real American men do!
Dmobile215
Note: this is a note for all you sports players stick with your own kind less stress! and you can live a little longer! if you do not like what I say then just do not read my articles. But I have seen a lot of my people get dragged and detained like animals this is the reason I say stick with your kind. Make our future possible! You can not make someone into something they are not.
If she was the killer--and I wonder about that--she was seriosly disturbed. But the teachings of her religion emphasize peace and harmonious relationships.
when McNair retired from the NFL, he gave the same ole, same ole, liner: ...to spend more time with the family.........
What the heck was he doing with this low life, foreigner, who did not amount to anything worth having an affair, ......
she was apparently responsible for making payments."
He GIVES her this car for her birthday but then shes making payments on it???? what kind of "gift" is that???
1) DO NOT SIGN A PRE-NUP BEFORE MARRIAGE!
2) IF YOU ARE DATING A MARRIED MAN-- THE WIFE GETS EVERYTHING!
3) GET A SEPERATE BANK ACCOUNT IN YOUR NAME ONLY AND ONE IN THE NAME OF YOUR CHILDREN WITH ANOTHER RELATIVE.
My point: How many spouses do NOT have a clue the other spouse is cheating ? I feel empathy for the wife but come on...He's living in Tennesee, selling THEIR home, and she is living in Mississippi. Sounds like she "knew" more than what she is pretending to know. Maybe, just maybe, she is trying to protect the children.
An inanimate object is only as dangerous as the person holding it!
The bottom line is a man who was loved by millions and who did alot of good things for a lot of people is gone. That is a tragedy. The woman on the other hand was a nobody who apparently liked to spend other people's money. What is more tragic is this is someone who could have just killed herself and nobody but a handful of people would have even known or cared about it, it would have made no difference. Instead she had to take McNair with her, what a sorry b--ch.
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