Gunshot residue was found on the left hand of 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi,
girlfriend of slain ex-NFL quarterback Steve McNair.
NFL great Steve McNair's suicidal mistress, who believed the married retired quarterback had a second girlfriend, shot him dead as he slept on a sofa, police said Wednesday.
Sahel Kazemi, 20, had been "spinning out of control" in the days leading up to Saturday's shocking murder-suicide in her Nashville condo, cops said.
"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," said Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas. "The totality of the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide."
Serpas said the findings were based on the appearance of the crime scene, evidence collected, autopsy findings and laboratory results. He said he broke the news to the widow of the former Tennessee Titan's quarterback, Mechelle, before going public.
"We believe now, at this time, that McNair was seated on the sofa and likely was asleep," Serpas said.
"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."
The chief said Kazemi sat down on the sofa next to the 36-year-old McNair and shot herself once in the right temple.
All five shell casings littering the crime scene matched the weapon that Kazemi purchased on Thursday and was discovered beneath her slumped over body, Serpas said.
Gunshot residue was found on Kazemi's left hand. None was discovered on McNair's hands, bolstering the case's conclusions, said Serpas.
"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," Serpas said.
In the five days leading up to her violent explosion, Kazemi had been stressed out about having to make payments on two cars, including a Cadillac Escalade she had bought with McNair, Serpas said.
Her roommate had recently announced that she was moving out and Kazemi, a waitress at a Dave and Buster's sports bar in Nashville, feared her rent would double.
Compounding her anxieties was an increasing suspicion that she was not McNair's only mistress.
"She believed McNair was involved with another woman and that, too, participated in her state of mind, we think," said Serpas.
Kazemi even tracked down the woman she assumed McNair was romantically involved with and followed her home Friday, but did not confront her, Serpas said.
"She had become very distraught and on two occasions she had told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and that she was going to end it all," Serpas said.
He added that Kazemi told a friend on Friday, "My life is a ball of s--- and I should end it."
Relatives told reporters that Kazemi believed McNair, the father of four, was about to finalize a divorce from his wife of 12 years. In reality, no divorce papers were ever filed.
The same day she purchased her gun, Kazemi took out an ad on Craigslist selling all her furniture - including the sectional sofa she and McNair died on, the Tennessean newspaper reported. Kazemi's relatives said she was selling her belongings because she thought she was moving in with McNair.
The bombshell news came on the eve of McNair's funeral in Nashville, where he is revered for leading the Titans to the Super Bowl in 1999 and praised for his charitable work in the community.
McNair, a three-time Pro-Bowl pick who ended his illustrious career with the Baltimore Ravens, will be buried in his hometown, Mt. Olive, Miss.
whutchinson@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/07/08/2009-07-08_steve_mcnair.html#ixzz0KqUMUTMi&C
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