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.
Citing autopsy results, The Tennessean reported late Monday that three of McNair’s four gunshot wounds were the result of the weapon being fired from more than three feet away. One of the gunshots to his temple was fired at close range, the newspaper said.
The Tennessean also reported Kazemi’s gunshot wound was a contact shot, which means the gun was touching her head when it was fired.
“All the autopsy tells us is that her wound is potentially self inflicted,” state medical examiner Bruce Levy told the newspaper. “In these cases, the cause of death is obvious, the manner of death a little trickier. We like to have as many factors as possible before we make a determination.”
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.
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