investigativevoice.com

WOMAN'S DEATH STILL UNCLASSIFIED

Police in Nashville announced Sunday that the shooting death of former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was a homicide, but they have not yet determined how to classify the death of the 20-year-old woman found with him in a downtown condo on Saturday.

McNair, 36, was shot four times -- including once in the head -- and Sahel Kazemi was shot once in the head, according to Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metro Nashville Police Department.

"I would expect that it would be a number of days before the classification is placed on Miss Kazemi's death," Aaron told reporters Sunday afternoon after autopsies on the two bodies were completed. 

Police said Kazemi and McNair, who was married with four sons, had been dating for several months. They reportedly met at a Dave and Buster's restaurant that he and his family frequented and where she worked as a waitress.

Aaron on Saturday described McNair's wife, Mechelle, as "very distraught" and said police do not believe she was involved in the shootings, although they have not ruled anything out. He added, however, that police were not "actively looking at suspects."

McNair was found seated on a sofa in the living room and Kazemi was lying nearby on the floor with a pistol underneath her, police said. A male friend of McNair's found the bodies just before 1 p.m., according to police. The shootings were believed to have occurred late Friday night or early Saturday morning. McNair reportedly rented the condo, but it is not clear if he or Kazemi had been staying there or if the place was used just for liaisons.

Aaron said police had pulled over Kazemi this past week and arrested her on DUI charges. McNair, who was in the 2007 Cadillac Escalade with her, left the scene by taxi. The Escalade was reportedly registered to both of them.

McNair retired last year after two seasons with the Ravens. He formerly played with the Tennessee Titans and took his team to the Super Bowl in 1999, where he set a record for rushing yards by a quarterback.

McNair played 13 seasons in the NFL, after joining the Houston Oilers in the 1995 NFL draft. The Mississippi native played football at Alcorn State.

McNair's family issued a statement Saturday, saying, "The families of Steve McNair in Mississippi and Tennessee appreciate the concern, thoughts and prayers during this difficult time of our lost of a husband, father and son. The family requests everyone would allow them time to mourn."

- Staff report