McNair Shooting: Tuesday Update

((HT: Tennessean/Howard, Schrade, Echegaray, Smietana))

Here's your highlights from the Tuesday analysis on the McNair murder and Kazemi shooting from Saturday:

Kazemi's family is struggling with the news that she bought the gun, and the likelihood of an announcement that Kazemi's death was a suicide.

During a recent interview, her nephew Farzin Abdi said that Kazemi had not owned a gun. He had suggested to Kazemi that — if she felt unsafe when she was alone — she purchase a gun when she turned 21.

"I hope they find the truth," Abdi said. "I just don't know if this is everything as they say."

Metro Police Department Spokesman Don Aaron said detectives were concerned about the length of time it took McNair's friend to call police once he discovered the bodies. Wayne Neeley, who rented the condo with McNair, got there before 1 p.m. Saturday, but police weren't called until another friend arrived at 1:35 p.m.

McNair and Kazemi had been dead for several hours by the time their bodies were found, police said. Aaron said they did not believe the bodies were moved. When asked if other evidence may have been moved, he said he couldn't comment.

Police and emergency communications officials have declined to release the tape of that 911 call, citing the ongoing investigation.

On Monday afternoon, the condo had been processed by detectives, but inside it still looked like a crime scene. The building's owner allowed The Tennessean to view the apartment once police released the unit to him.

What was left of the couch was bloodstained, but much of it had been cut up during the evidence- gathering process. A large bloodstain remained on the carpet in front of the couch.

Two pieces of drywall behind the couch had been cut out for processing at the crime lab. Penciled near the missing chunks of wall were the words "strike mark #1," "strike mark #2" and "stain #1" marking apparent bullet holes and a bloodstain.

Fingerprint dust could be seen on doors throughout the apartment, including the refrigerator.

About a dozen liquor bottles sat in a corner on the kitchen counter. Attached to the counter was a piece of paper taped like a pocket with a $20 bill sticking out. Written on the note were the words "Never Broke."

The dwelling did not have any photographs or other personal touches. It had the depersonalized feel of a vacation spot timeshare. There was a Christmas tin sitting near the kitchen, addressed to Wayne and Steve. A pile of men's white sneakers lay in the corner of the kitchen. The sound of radio music could be heard from an upstairs bedroom.

Mechelle McNair has not spoken publicly about the death. Steve McNair had four sons.

Kazemi's family has said she believed McNair was in the process of divorcing his wife when they met at her job at Dave & Buster's several months ago and began dating. There is no record of divorce filings for the couple.

Bishop Joseph Walker, the pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, said he had no indication there was trouble in the McNairs' marriage. When they came to service, they came together. They had not been to see him for counseling.

"Obviously, it's very devastating for Mechelle and their children, and devastating to our church, because of the man we know Steve to be," Walker said.

The circumstances, Walker said, are not for us to judge.

"People forget that there were two lives lost here, that two families are affected," Walker said. "It's not time to demonize anyone."

McNair, who led the Tennessee Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance in 1999, had two arrests in Nashville. He was arrested on a DUI charge in 2003 that was later dismissed, and in 2007, he was arrested on an owner-operator DUI because his brother was charged with drinking and driving in his car while McNair was a passenger.

There was no cause to arrest McNair when he was a passenger during Kazemi's DUI stop on July 2 because Kazemi was a co-owner of the Cadillac Escalade and bore the responsibility, Aaron said.

Kazemi was driving 54 mph in a 30-mph zone and was stopped at Broadway near 12th Avenue, according to court records. She told police she was not drunk, but high. She later said it had been eight hours since she had drunk any alcohol. The court records don't mention that McNair and a second passenger were in the car.

Although McNair was an owner, police did follow procedure when they released McNair, said Nashville criminal defense lawyer Nathan Moore.

"Absolutely, they did the right thing," Moore said of the officers' letting McNair take a cab. "He had no legal obligation keeping her from driving the SUV. It was registered in both their names."

Officer Shawn Taylor, who stopped Kazemi, also was the officer who arrested McNair in 2003. The charges were dismissed and expunged.

Taylor, however, was disciplined six years ago for violating department rules by repeatedly asking McNair to take a breath test after he refused. Police also said Taylor violated departmental rules then by taking home copies of DUI arrest tapes, including one of McNair.

There's no indication McNair was given a pass in the Thursday traffic stop though, Aaron said.

"The officer even said to Ms. Kazemi that if the Escalade was registered solely to McNair, he would likely have been in the same situation as she," Aaron said.

A public visitation for McNair is set for 3:45-6:45 p.m. Thursday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Whites Creek. A memorial service is at 7 p.m. Kazemi's family is still looking for a funeral home.

FOSG Heather Cook has a look at the Jeff Fisher press conference from Monday and catches up with Steve brothers, Fred and Tim, as they reflect on the family's loss and Steve's son Junior's senior season in high school...
((HT: WDAM-TV/Hattiesburg))

Sunday Early Update: McNair Shooting

((HT: ESPN))

Kevin Neghandi and Bob Holtzman have your dayside back and forth on the shooting death of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi.


Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair's death has been classified a homicide, but the death of Sahel Kazemi, the woman found alongside him in his downtown condominium, remains unclassified, Nashville police said.

Autopsies were conducted early Sunday, and McNair was found to have suffered four gunshot wounds -- two to the head, and two to the chest, police spokesman Don Aaron said during an afternoon news conference.

Kazemi, 20, had one gunshot wound, to the head, according to police. A semiautomatic pistol was found under her body later during processing of the crime scene, and there was no sign of forced entry, police said.

As for the victims' connection, "They apparently were involved in a dating relationship over the past several months," Aaron said.

Police said they believed the two died early Saturday, long before the bodies were discovered.

Mechelle McNair, mother of two of his four sons, was expected to collect her husband's belongings from authorities. Funeral arrangements were not expected to be finalized until Monday afternoon at the earliest.

"She's still very upset, very distraught," said McNair's agent, Bus Cook.

"I'm still in shock since hearing the news yesterday. I spent all afternoon and night thinking about my life on and off the field with Pops," Titans quarterback Vince Young said. "Since I was a teenager, he was like a father to me. I hear his advice in my head with everything I do. Life will be very different without him."

"Steve and I had a mutually respected friendship. He was one of the great warriors to ever put on a football uniform at any position," former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon said. "His competitiveness and toughness were unparalleled. He was always a gentleman, and very giving off the field. One of the great people in our league was taken from us way to soon."

Said former Titans safety Blaine Bishop: "Steve was an absolute warrior as a player and brought that mind-set to the team. Whether he was hurt or not, he was going to give us everything he had. He was the toughest player that I ever played with . . .The thing I will always remember about him was whether it was a good or bad on the field, the whole team -- both offense and defense -- believed he would lead us to victory if we could just get the ball in his hands at the end of the game."

Friends declined to describe the relationship between McNair and Kazemi, who was a waitress at Dave & Buster's, a sports bar and entertainment restaurant in Nashville, where the two apparently first met.

A man who answered the door at a house in the Jacksonville, Fla., suburb of Orange Park said it was the home of Kazemi's family, but said her relatives did not want to comment.

"We don't have anything to say, please leave us alone," the man said.

But a Nashville neighbor saw McNair, 36, at Kazemi's apartment so often -- two to three times a week -- that he thought McNair had moved in. McNair never tried to hide his presence, but he did keep to himself.

Neighbor Reagan Howard said Kazemi often was dropped off in the early morning hours by a limousine, and recently had upgraded from her Kia to a Cadillac Escalade.

"It was pretty obvious that she was taken with him," Howard said.

McNair and Kazemi had been together just two days earlier, when she was pulled over while driving a 2007 Escalade registered to her and McNair. She was arrested on a DUI charges; McNair, who was a passenger in the car, was allowed to leave in a taxi.

According to The Tennessean, McNair later bailed Kazemi out of jail.

The bodies were discovered Saturday afternoon by McNair's longtime friend, Wayne Neeley, who rents the condo in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood with McNair.

Neeley then called Robert Gaddy, who had been friends with McNair since they played at Alcorn State. Gaddy was the one who alerted authorities.

"People have certain things that they do in life," Gaddy told The Associated Press on Sunday. "We don't need to look on the situation at this time [but] on the fact we just lost a great member of society."

Cook, McNair's agent, said he was not aware that his client was seeing Kazemi, a woman whose name he learned about through reports of the shooting.

"It doesn't make any sense. I don't know what to say," Cook said.

Police said a witness saw McNair arrive at the condo between 1:30 and 2 a.m. local time Saturday and that Kazemi's vehicle was already there. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans' stadium.

Fred McNair, Steve McNair's oldest brother, said some family members likely would travel to Nashville on Monday.

"It's still kind of hard to believe," Fred McNair said. "He was the greatest person in the world. He gave back to the community. He loved kids and he wanted to be a role model to kids."

McNair and his wife split their time between Nashville and their farm in Mount Olive, Miss., according to a statement from the Titans.