You’ve heard it from a gazillion other places I know, but authorities say Sahel Kazemi (pictured above in an undated mugshot) is responsible for the murder of retired quarterback, Steve McNair and then took her own life. The story is one that industry dudes should take note of, simply because it could have been avoided.
McNair was married, recently retired from the NFL and had decided to build a quiet life in Nashville with his family, which included his wife of 12 years who was the mother of two of his 4 sons. He met Kazemi about 6 months ago at a restaurant whre she was a waitress and where he often ate with his family. The two began they’re fateful affair and McNair lavished the naive 20 year old with gifts and trips around the country.? She was young and caught up. McNair gave her an Cadillac Escalade for her birthday and took her on trips to Las Vegas and Key West, Fla.
Friends and family say that Kazemi seemed to think that their relationship was true and appeared confident the pair would last. She had even introduced McNair to her family and her nephew 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 (nephew) said.
The first sign of trouble was early Thursday morning. Police stopped Kazemi on Broadway, not far from the honky-tonks where throaty country singers belt out tales of unfaithful spouses. She was driving the Escalade SUV 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. They were both found dead on the Fourth of July ? McNair from two gunshots each to the head and chest, Kazemi from a single shot to the side of the head. Police said Monday that Kazemi had bought a gun Thursday night from someone they did not identify.
The next night, McNair was out late with friends, but he and Kazemi got together 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.
Officers said they found a gun under her body. 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 on it. McNair?s brother, Fred, said the day of the shootings that he had never heard of Kazemi.
No court records of divorce proceedings have surfaced so far. 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.
Kazemi was born in Iran but left in 2000, fleeing religious persecution for their Baha?i faith, Abdi said. They spent 2? years in Turkey before moving to Florida. Later Kazemi dropped out of high school and, at age 17, moved with a boyfriend to Nashville, where she sometimes worked two or three jobs to support herself.
She liked not depending on anyone for money, and she told her nephew that McNair admired her independent nature.
?He liked her so much because they would go shopping and stuff and she would want to spend her own money,? Abdi said. ?The reason he said he loves her is because she?s not trying to use him like other girls. She was different from other girls he had been with.?
They’ve done ballistics and YES those were Kazemi’s fingerprints on the gun. Authorities have also been questioning several people, including Kazemi’s ex-boyfriend, Keith Norfleet, but state they are still far from a motive but learning more about the dating relationship between Kazemi and McNair. My honest opinion is that he was about to end the “relationship” and Kazemi just couldn’t take it. She also probably realized that he was NEVER going to leave his wife, as she had been led to believe. I know quite a few men in this situation RIGHT NOW as I type, who are now all tryna figure out a way to dump their jump offs.? Let’s just hope they can do it peacefully and before any shots are fired.
