Here is McNair’s Girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi’s DUI Video From Days Before The Murder
UPDATE: Police: McNair’s Girlfriend Shot Him While He Was Sleep
Former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by a 20-year-old girlfriend distraught about mounting financial problems and her belief that he was seeing someone else, police said Wednesday.
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.
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.
Police are awaiting toxicology reports on both bodies.
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.
UPDATE: Police: McNair Girlfriend Behind Murder-Suicide
Police confirmed Wednesday that ex-NFL star Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend killed him before turning the gun on herself.
They said they may never know what was going through Sahel Kazemi’s mind when she shot McNair in his condominium early Saturday, but interviews with friends indicated she was becoming increasingly distraught over events in her life, including financial problems. Police said she also suspected McNair was seeing another woman. end it,” Police Chief Ronal Serpas said.
Police earlier had labeled McNair’s death a homicide, but awaited further tests and investigation before saying for sure what happened.
McNair, a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans most of his career, met Kazemi six months ago at a restaurant 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.
Kazemi had recently told an associate that her “personal life was all screwed up.” She had mounting debts and her roommate was moving out, which would have doubled her rent.
“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 even followed that woman home, though she did not confront her.
Police believe McNair was asleep on a sofa at a condominium he rented with a friend when Kazemi shot him in the head. She then apparently shot him twice in the chest before shooting him again in the head and then shooting herself.
She sat next to his body and tried to position herself to fall into his lap when she died. She did, but her body slid to the floor and ended up at McNair’s feet, Serpas said. The gun was found underneath Kazemi.
Her family told reporters Kazemi 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 McNair’s wife, Mechelle McNair, “didn’t know who this girl is.” No records of divorce proceedings have surfaced.
Two days before the shooting, police stopped Kazemi driving the Cadillac 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.
Serpas said that even though the Cadillac had both her name and McNair’s on the title, she was apparently responsible for making payments. She was also making payments on another car after failing to sell it.
UPDATE: Medical Examiner: McNair’s Girlfriend Fired Gun
According to TMZ:
We just spoke with Tennessee assistant medical examiner Dr. Feng Li, who tells us preliminary test results in the Steve McNair death show Sahel Kazemi fired the gun that killed both of them.
Feng — who conducted autopsies on the two bodies — told us he was able to make the determination from the crime scene investigation, police interviews, autopsy findings and preliminary lab results — which include a gunshot residue test.
UPDATE: McNair Stood Up Mistress in Vegas Two Weeks Before Shooting
As days pass, details of the murder/suicide of the former Tennessee Titan quarterback, Steve McNair, and his mistress Sahel Kazemi, continue to surface. The latest speculation is, McNair seemed to have wanted to pull away from the affair.
Just two weeks ago, Kazemi and McNair planned a trip to Las Vegas. Kazemi, 20, flew from Tennessee to Nevada to meet McNair, but he never arrived, reports Florida Times Union.
Soheyla Kazemi, sister of McNair’s mistress, said she was concerned about the age difference between her sister and the former quarterback but “she never listened to nobody.”
Soheyla said she had a chance to meet McNair when she traveled to Tennessee for Sahel’s 20th birthday party. “He was nice,” she said. “He did everything for my daughter.”
Soheyla said despite Sahel’s sad childhood, in recent months her sister “had never been happier.”
Like Sahel’s niece, Sepide Salmani, her sister does not believe she was capable of murder.
“It’s not true. She loves Steve too much,” Soheyla, 46, said. “She said they were planning to get married.
She also said her sister was expecting McNair to leave his wife in the next two or three weeks so they could marry.
Soheyla said she chatted with Sahel several times a day through Facebook. She said her sister began dating the married ex-football player about five months ago and was in love with him.
The Titans announced that they will open LP Field, where they play their home games, for a two-day memorial to murdered former quarterback.
He will be buried in his hometown, Mount Olive, Mississippi on Saturday.
UPDATE: Public Memorial, Viewings Set for QB McNair
A public memorial and viewings are scheduled later this week for slain former NFL quarterback Steve McNair.
The public will have a couple of opportunities to attend viewings in Nashville on Thursday and a memorial will be held later that evening at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
A funeral will be held Saturday in Mississippi but arrangements are not yet final. McNair, 36, was from Mt. Olive, a small town in southern Mississippi.
Fans are asked to make donations to the Steve McNair Foundation.
The former quarterback was found shot to death inside a Nashville condo Saturday. A 20-year-old woman police say he had been dating was found dead beside him.
Police say McNair was the victim of homicide, though they aren’t yet ready to label Sahel Kazemi’s death a suicide.
UPDATE: McNair Bought Gun For His Girlfiend
McNair’s 20-year-old girlfriend bought a gun a couple of days before she was found dead alongside the slain former NFL quarterback, her relative said Monday.
Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. Kazemi and McNair were found dead on Saturday in a Nashville condominium leased by the former Titans star.
Abdi said police told him they are almost sure Kazemi was the shooter, but the 27-year-old nephew said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.
“There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. … She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”
Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.
Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.
Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.
Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.
Before their deaths, the public knew nothing of Kazemi’s relationship with McNair, a star who had earned the respect of his fellow NFL 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 endeared himself further with his charity work. Not just from the checks he handed out, but for throwing himself into the efforts, like he did when loading boxes onto tractor-trailers bound for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Publicly, McNair was a happily married man and proud father of four sons who split his time between his Mississippi farm and a home in Music City, where celebrities are cherished, not hassled.
UPDATE: Death Reveals Many Sides Of Steve McNair
[Updated 8:26 a.m., 7/6/09]
Steve McNair earned the respect of his fellow NFL players for shaking off defenders and injuries. That same blue-collar playing style won the love of fans amazed at how the quarterback kept showing up for work — and winning.
He endeared himself more with his charity work. Not just from the checks he handed out, but for throwing himself into the efforts, like he did when loading boxes onto tractor-trailers bound for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Publicly, McNair was a happily married man and proud father of four sons who split his time between his Mississippi farm and a home in Music City, where celebrities are cherished, not hassled.
But when he was found shot to death on the Fourth of July with his 20-year-old girlfriend dead nearby, a darker side of his private life was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
“People have certain things that they do in life,” said McNair’s longtime friend Robert Gaddy, who called 911. “We don’t need to look on the situation at this time (but) on the fact we just lost a great member of society.”
Even McNair’s longtime agent said he didn’t know about the former quarterback’s relationship with Saleh Kazemi until news broke of the deaths. Now police call McNair the victim of homicide, though they aren’t yet ready to label Kazemi’s death a suicide despite her single bullet wound to the head.
“As good as he was on the football field, that couldn’t touch the person,” agent Bus Cook said Sunday, still shaken by McNair’s death. “I mean it just couldn’t.”
Hints of a problem with alcohol surfaced in May 2003 when a Nashville cop pulled McNair over on suspicion of drunk driving. Police said the quarterback’s blood alcohol content was .18 percent — well over Tennessee’s legal limit. He also was charged for having a 9mm weapon with him, but all the charges were later dropped.
McNair was charged with drunken driving in 2007 because he let his brother-in-law drive his pickup truck. Those charges were later dropped when the DUI charge against the brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving.
And McNair could have been charged again Thursday night when the same officer who arrested him in 2003 stopped a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by Kazemi and registered to both her and McNair. Kazemi was arrested on a DUI charge, and he was allowed to leave in a taxi.
Dr. Sherry Blake, a clinical psychologist who practices in the Atlanta area, has counseled athletes and entertainers about the temptations of easy drugs, alcohol and women. She talked Sunday about the challenges even for those with strong family ties, though not about the McNair case specifically.
“Individuals can’t get enough of the limelight. It’s easy to have people telling you how great and wonderful you are rather than otherwise,” Blake said.
“The sad part is many times the public likes to be close to you not because of who you are but what you do.”
Police labeled his death homicide Sunday, revealing McNair had been shot four times — twice in the head, twice in the chest when found in a rented condominium he shared with a longtime friend, Walter Neeley. Police found a semiautomatic pistol under Kazemi’s body.
But police spokesman Don Aaron said they were reviewing every possibility, interviewing friends of both and an ex-boyfriend before labeling Kazemi’s death.
On the football field, he simply was “Air McNair,” a winner.
McNair still holds the NCAA’s Football Championship Series (formerly Division I-AA) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823) from his days at tiny Alcorn State in Mississippi.
He played 13 NFL seasons starting with the then-Houston Oilers, led Tennessee to its famous last-second 2000 Super Bowl loss to the St. Louis Rams. He ended his career in Baltimore last season, after being traded away by the Titans after they drafted Vince Young as a replacement to the aching and expensive veteran.
A four-time Pro Bowler, he shared the NFL’s MVP award with Peyton Manning in 2003.
“Many of our defensive players talked about what a huge challenge it was playing against him,” Manning said in a statement. “He and I had some great battles against each other.”
McNair never acknowledged any of his numerous injuries on the field, even in one game when the painkilling shot wore off before he drove the Titans to a touchdown and ran in for the tying 2-point conversion. Then he led them to the winning field goal.
Young called McNair, a father figure since Young was a teenager, “Pops.”
“I hear his advice in my head with everything I do. Life will be very different without him,” Young said in a statement.
McNair’s friends want the quarterback to be remembered for his generosity. He gave away turkeys and checks in Tennessee, toys in Baltimore and paid for three football camps himself this year. Cook talked to someone Saturday who saw McNair cleaning up the field after one camp at Southern Mississippi.
“That was Steve McNair. That’s who he is. And who he was,” an emotional Cook recalled.
Cook described Mechelle, who married McNair in 1997, as “very upset, very distraught.” Funeral arrangements could be completed Monday with some of McNair’s family coming to Nashville to assist planning.
McNair met Kazemi at the Dave & Buster’s restaurant where she worked as a server and where when his family ate often. The two began dating a few months ago in a relationship that included a vacation with parasailing. Photos posted on TMZ.com showed McNair gazing and smiling at the young Kazemi.
“She pretty obviously got mixed up way over her head with folks,” said Reagan Howard, a neighbor of Kazemi’s.
A man who answered the door at a house in the Jacksonville, Fla., suburb of Orange Park said it was the home of Kazemi’s family, but said her relatives did not want to comment.
“We don’t have anything to say, please leave us alone,” he said.
The victim’s sister, Soheyla Kazemi, told the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville that the young woman had expected McNair to get a divorce. “She said they were planning to get married.”
Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.
The real estate agent declined to comment. Her online listing for property described it as a “gigantic house” of more than 14,000 square feet and photos showed a pool, home theater, baby grand piano and ornate furnishings throughout.
Kimberly Hardy visited a restaurant McNair recently opened near Tennessee State University to provide healthy, affordable food for college students. The Nashville woman said McNair had been nice to her the handful of times she met him. She said she hated what had happened to him.
“But I do think that all the greatness he accomplished will endure forever,” Hardy said.
UPDATE: Former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair Murdered
[Updated 6:07 p.m., 7/04/09]
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Former Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed. Police said McNair suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville.
The incident happened near 2nd Avenue South & Lea Avenue in a residence Steve McNair was renting.
The call came into police at 1:35 p.m. A crowd began to gather in the area where Steve McNair’s body was found Saturday afternoon.
“When police officers arrived in response to that call, they found two individuals who had been shot to death inside the residence: one female, one male. We now know that the male deceased is Steve McNair. The female deceased has been tentatively identified. We’re working to confirm that and then notify her next of kin,” said Don Aaron with Metro Police on the situation.
According to police, there were no signs of forced entry at the crime scene. While the female victim’s identity has not been released, police are confirming she is not Mechelle McNair.
“There were persons who were around the complex today who have been taken to headquarters for questioning,” Don Aaron explained. However, he made it clear that there were no suspects in custody at the time.
According to Don Aaron, no suspects have been taken into custody. Several people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning, so police could get information about the circumstances surrounding the shooting deaths.
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen released the following statement:
Andrea and I were very saddened by the news of Steve McNair’s death. He has always felt like part of the Nashville family, and he will be sorely missed.
Several fans expressed shock and saddness in response to the news along with former teamates and other members of the Titans organization.
Many people commented on how Steve was such an important part of the community. Steve McNair opened a restaurant, Gridiron 9 on Jefferson Street in North Nashville. An employee at McNair’s restaurant said Steve McNair gave him hope. He said when no one else gave him a chance, Steve hired him immediately.
Titans’ owner ‘Bud’ Adams Jr. released the following statement on the Titan’s web site:
“We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today. He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing.”
Hope Hines, NewsChannel 5′s Chief Sports Reporter said Brad Hopkins, former All Pro Left Tackle, was very upset by the death of Steve McNair. He said he was dissapointed, and doesn’t understand how people can take lives so violently.
Hopkins said this is an example of how no one is immune to violence.
“Steve was my friend, and that’s the difference. I remember his first five minutes in the facility. Every walk he took, I was probably right next to him. We fought and bled together,” said Hopkins. “Here’s a man who was husband and a father. He meant a lot to a lot of people. Not just people on the football field,” Hopkins continued.
Jeff Diamond, former President of the Titans commented on Steve McNair’s death:
“First of all it’s such a tragic, tragic thing. You just hate to see these things happen, and to happen to someone you like and respect and knew so well and had so many great times and moments with; it’s a horrible, horrible story.”
Steve McNair was 36 years old. He leaves behind a wife Mechelle and four sons: Junior, Steven, Tyler and Trenton.
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