Nashville police have confirmed former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead by his girlfriend, before she turned the gun on herself.
Girlfriend killed former NFL quarterback and then herself say Police
Nashville police have confirmed their belief that former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was asleep on the sofa when he was shot dead by his young girlfriend, before she turned the gun on herself.
Police say 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi shot McNair four times, twice in the head and twice in the chest, before turning the gun on herself at his rented apartment.
Former Tennessee Titan and Baltimore Raven McNair will be remembered at a memorial service in Nashville on Thursday, before being buried in Mississippi.
With no suicide note left, the exact motive for the killing has not yet been discovered, but Kazemi is thought to have been troubled by a combination of jealousy and financial worries in the days running up to the incident.
"The police department has concluded that Steve McNair was murdered by Sahel Kazemi and that, in turn, Sahel Kazemi killed herself with a single gunshot wound to her head," police spokesman Ronal Serpas said.
Evidence
"Because there's a lack of any evidence of a struggle or defensive wounds to McNair, his physical position on the sofa, the trajectory of the bullets and the wound pattern we still believe it was likely that Kazemi shot Mr McNair and he didn't know.
"McNair was seated on the sofa and likely asleep and we believe that Kazemi shot him in the right temple, then shot him twice in the chest and then shot him a final time in the left temple.
"She told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and that she was going to end it all.
"While we may never know exactly what drove Ms Kazemi to make that decision, the totality of the evidence clearly points to murder-suicide. We believe there was evidence she was spinning out of control."
Along with worries about rent and other payments, Kazemi also believed that 36-year-old McNair had a new girlfriend before she illegally purchased a $100 gun.
Stresses
"We think in the last five to seven days of her life many stresses were affecting her, with one of those doubts whether her relationship with Mr McNair was unravelling," Serpas added.
"We have no evidence that anyone else was involved."
Relatives also say that Kazemi thought McNair was about to divorce his wife and marry her, although no court papers had been filed.
Father-of-four McNair was a much-loved personality both on and off the field, with the former NFL MVP doing extensive charity work in Nashville where he spent the majority of his 13 seasons.
McNair retired from the NFL in 2007 after ending his career in Baltimore, following 161 games in which he threw for 31,304 yards and 174 touchdowns, along with 3,590 career yards rushing with 37 TDs.
McNair's highlight, alongside the 2003 MVP award, was the Titans' march to the Super Bowl in 2000, where he led an amazing final drive but just fell a yard short as time expired and the St Louis Rams won 23-16.
