McNair’s Death Ruled a Homicide

Published on: July 5th, 2009 @ 5:55 PM UTC by William Johnson  | 

Update: Remember Steve McNair, submit your photos to our photo gallery.

 

stevemcnairtitans Earlier today we reported that former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was found dead, along with another woman in a condominium in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood of Tennessee.

 

police said Sunday, but authorities stopped short of saying it was a murder-suicide committed by the 20-year-old girlfriend found dead by his side.

 

McNair, 36, was shot four times, twice in the head, by a semiautomatic pistol, Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. The woman who has now been identified, Sahel Kazemi, was killed by a single gunshot wound and the pistol was found under her body, Aaron said.

 

In an interview today with the Associated Press (AP) Don Aaron stated: "That’s a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi’s death."  when asked whether this could have been caused by a “lovers quarrel”. 

 

McNair, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, was married with four children. He and Kazemi were found dead Saturday afternoon at a Nashville condominium he shared with a friend, and police said Sunday that it appears the two died in the early morning.

 

Police earlier said they weren’t looking for any suspects and do not believe McNair’s wife was involved. Mechelle McNair, mother of two of his four sons, was expected to collect her husband’s belongings from authorities. Funeral arrangements were not expected to be finalized until Monday afternoon at the earliest.

 

According to an  arrest affidavit from Thursday said Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on her breath when she was pulled over, but refused a breathalyzer test, saying "she was not drunk, she was high."

McNair and his family frequented the restaurant where Kazemi was a waitress, according to employees and patrons of Dave & Buster’s in Nashville.

"She was reliable 90 percent of the time," manager Chris Truelove said of Kazemi. "She was pretty outgoing. A lot of the guests liked being around her, and she liked being around the guests."

 

Co-worker Shantez Jobe, 33, said she was friends with Kazemi.

"We talked about who had more fashion sense, and who was the cutest, and who could get more boys, you know some of the stuff girls do," Jobe said.

In June, McNair opened a restaurant near the Tennessee State University campus. It was closed Saturday evening, but had become a small memorial, where flowers, candles and notes had been placed outside the door.

McNair led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams. He was co-MVP of the NFL with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in 2003.

Manning said in a statement Sunday that he had some great battles with the quarterback.

"Sharing the NFL MVP honor with him in 2003 was special because of what a great football player he was," Manning said. "I had the opportunity to play in a couple of Pro Bowls with him, and the time spent with him in Hawaii I’ll never forget. I’ll truly miss him. My condolences go out to his family."

 

McNair is survived by Mechelle, his wife of nearly 12 years; and sons Junior, Steven, Tyler and Trenton.