NFL quarterback Steve McNair was buried Saturday after what is being called one of the biggest funerals in Mississippi’s recent history. The service was held in the Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. Almost 5,000 fans and old friends showed up to pay their last respects to the late athlete. Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young got emotional while speaking briefly about McNair:

“Steve was like a hero to me, and heroes are not supposed to die,” Young said before stopping to rub his eyes as he talked about the man he knew from football camps as a teenager.

SOURCE: FOX SPORTS

Steve McNair was shot and killed on July 4th by his girlfriend, who then shot herself in the head. The death was ruled a “murder-suicide” shortly thereafter.

The mystery surrounding Steve McNair‘s death has been solved. According to an official report from the coroner, his death has been ruled a murder-suicide. The four fatal gunshot wounds the former NFL player sustained (two to the head, two the chest) were from a gun his girlfriend, 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, purchased just days before McNair’s roommate found them both dead in a Tennessee condo. Kazami shot McNair before turning the gun on herself, police said.

The girlfriend of former NFL star Steve McNair first shot him in his right temple, then fired three more shots at close range, most likely as he slept, police said Wednesday. She then sat on the couch next to his body, and killed herself so that she would fall into his lap, they said.

“The totality of the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide,” Nashville, Tennessee, Police Chief Ronal Serpas told reporters at an afternoon news conference.

McNair, 36, and Sahel Kazemi, 20, were found fatally shot in a condominium in downtown Nashville on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

“McNair was seated on the sofa and likely was 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,” Serpas said.

“Kazemi then positioned herself next to McNair on the sofa and shot herself once in the right temple and expired. … We do believe she tried to stage that when she killed herself, she would fall in his lap.”

A trace of gunshot residue was found on her left hand, he said. Kazemi used a 9 mm handgun, Serpas said.

McNair was married and had four children. Serpas said he had spoken with McNair’s wife Wednesday to update her on the investigation.

The police chief said Kazemi had become rattled over the last week, believing that McNair was involved with another woman. “She had become very distraught and on two occasions told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and that she was going to end it all,” Serpas said. He said Kazemi had seen another person leave the condo a few days before and was concerned “whether or not her relationship was unraveling with Mr. McNair.”

“There was evidence that she was spinning out of control,” Serpas said.

He added that there was no evidence found at the condo indicating anyone else was there at the time of the deaths, which is believed to be after 1 a.m. Saturday. Dr. Feng Li, the assistant medical examiner who has been handling the case, told CNN earlier Wednesday that all evidence was “indicating that she killed Mr. McNair and killed herself.”

“It’s almost an assured thing. We have to be convinced otherwise,” Li said.

The coroner said he will not finalize the “manner of death” on Kazemi’s death certificate until he has final lab test results, which are a few days away.

“I have to have everything together, and then I make the opinion,” he said. “We want to be as thorough and as detailed as possible.”

Li said Kazemi was found face-down in the condo with the gun underneath her. The autopsy indicates she shot herself once through her right temple. “She was found on the feet of Mr. McNair, who sat on the sofa,” he said.

“It’s very hard for everybody involved,” Li said. “Our thoughts and prayers go to the families.”

Earlier in the week, police said that on Thursday evening, Kazemi purchased the pistol found at the scene. Hours before the purchase, Kazemi was pulled over in a traffic stop and charged with driving under the influence. She was accompanied by McNair in a Cadillac Escalade he had purchased for her. McNair was allowed to leave the scene in a taxi after Kazemi was given a field sobriety test.

On Friday night, Kazemi who worked as a waitress told a co-worker “that she was thinking about ending it,” Serpas said. Police found their bodies in the condo — leased to McNair and his friend Wayne Neeley — about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The two had been dead for hours before Neeley, who had to use a key to enter the building, discovered the clothed bodies Saturday afternoon, according to police. Neeley then called his friend Robert Gaddy, who arrived at the condo and called police.

Serpas said it is unusual for such a time gap, but “not unheard of.” He said police do not believe the crime scene was tampered.

SOURCE: CNN

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds (two to the head and two to the chest) at an apartment complex in Nashville, Tennessee early Saturday morning (Jul 4). After receiving a phone call about an injured person, police say they found the former pro footballer and another woman, later identified as 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, shot to death.

According to authorities, McNair’s body was found seated on a living room sofa and Kazemi is said to have sustained a lone gunshot wound to the head. Police also said that a pistol was found near her body.

As of Sunday (Jul 5), McNair’s death had been ruled a suicide, though police said they have not classified Kazemi’s death. Kazemi is said to have been involved in a romantic relationship with McNair.

Asked whether the shooting was a murder-suicide, Aaron said investigators had ruled out nothing.

“I would expect that it would be a number of days before the classification is placed on Miss Kazemi’s death,” he said.

McNair, a married father of four, and Kazemi “apparently were involved in a dating relationship over the past several months,” Aaron said.

There were no signs of forced entry at the condo, which was rented by McNair and a friend of his, sporting-goods dealer Wayne Neeley, Aaron said. Neeley used a key to enter the building and discovered the clothed bodies Saturday afternoon, Aaron said.

“The two had been dead for a period of hours prior to the bodies being discovered,” Aaron said.

Neeley then called his friend, Robert Gaddy, who went to the condo and called police. Asked why Neeley had not called police himself, Aaron said, “My conjecture would be that he was shocked and horrified by what he had just discovered and, for some reason, his inclination was to contact Mr. Gaddy, who was a close friend of Mr. Neeley’s and Mr. McNair’s.”

McNair’s body was found seated on a living room sofa, Aaron said. A semi-automatic pistol was found under Kazemi’s body, which was on the floor, he said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting local authorities in tracing the gun, Aaron said. Witnesses told police that McNair had been at the Blue Moon Lagoon Bar and the Loser’s Bar, both Nashville establishments, late Friday into early Saturday, Aaron said. Staff and management of both bars will be interviewed, he said.

Neighbors said a Cadillac Escalade driven by Kazemi — registered to her and McNair — was already in the condominium parking lot when McNair arrived at about 1:30 a.m.

“The presumption is she was there when he arrived,” Aaron said.

Police are also interviewing Kazemi’s former boyfriend, Aaron said. The bodies were found two days after Kazemi was pulled over in the Escalade and charged with driving under the influence, Aaron said. McNair was in the car at the time. Kazemi’s sister, Sepide Kazemi, said she suspected her sister was the other fatality when she heard on the news Saturday afternoon that McNair and someone else had been found dead.

“We had a feeling that it was her, because she would be the only young woman with him at that time, as far as we knew,” Sepide Kazemi told CNN affiliate WSMV.

McNair spent 13 seasons in the NFL, most with the Tennessee Titans. He was named the NFL’s co-MVP in 2003 and spent his last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, before announcing his retirement in April 2008.

He led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost to the St. Louis Rams.

SOURCE: CNN

His funeral service is set for Thursday (Jul 9). Our condolences go out to the victims’ friends and family at this obviously difficult time.