Details continue to develop in the case of former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, who was murdered in a Nashville, Tenn., residence July 4.
According to TMZ.com, assistant medical examiner Dr. Feng Li has confirmed that Sahel Kazemi, McNair's 20-year-old girlfriend, fired the gun that killed the former football star.
According to the entertainment gossip Web site, Li made the determination after investigating the crime scene, police interviews, autopsy findings and preliminary lab results, which include a gunshot residue test.
McNair suffered multiple fatal gunshots, including two to the head and two to the chest, and Kazemi allegedly killed herself with one fatal shot to the side of her head.
Nashville Police believe McNair, 36, and Kazemi died round 2 a.m., nearly 12 hours before their bodies were discovered at the condominium McNair co-owned in an upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood.
Police also told the media there was no sign of forced entry at the condo and cops are investigating whether the couple was engaged in a fight or argument at the time.
McNair's body was discovered on the couch in the living room when police first arrived, and Kazemi was close to him on the floor; the pistol was underneath her body.
Friends and family of Kazemi told authorities that she and McNair had been dating for a few months, but the former NFL star apparently kept the affair a secret from his wife, Mechelle.
Kazemi's aunt Sepideh Salmani told the Tennessean Newspaper that the two met at a Dave & Buster's restaurant where she worked as a waitress. The two started dating and Kazemi was under the impression that McNair was planning to divorce his wife.
"She said they were planning to get married," Kazemi's sister, Soheyla told the Florida Times-Union.
A divorce wasn't filed with county records, but according to the Daily News, the McNair family home is currently up for sale at $3 million.
Investigators are still looking into what may have occurred between the two leading up to the murders.
According to The Tennessean, Kazemi sold all of her furniture two days before she killed McNair. Police confirmed in a Nashville press conference that McNair was asleep on the couch when Kazemi shot him. She then sat down next to the wounded football veteran and shot herself.
Nashville Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas told the media Kazemi had recently communicated to friends how she was overwhelmed with financial problems and was ready to ''end it all.''
Police also reported the Iranian-born Kazemi had learned McNair was dating another woman, whom she attempted to follow days before the murder. Police say they've talked to that woman but did not release her identity.
Also during the week prior to McNair and Kazemi's deaths, the Associated Press reports Nashville police arrested Kazemi on a DUI charge while she drove the 2007 Cadillac Escalade.
The arrest report says Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath, but refused to take a breathalyzer test, claiming "she was not drunk, she was high." McNair, who was riding in the passenger seat, was allowed to leave by taxi.
Kazemi was raised by an aunt in Florida after her parents were murdered in Iran and later moved to Tennessee with her ex-boyfriend, Keith Norfleet.
Norfleet told police he and Kazemi dated for four years and had a "volatile" relationship. Although Norfleet was attempting to reunite with Kazemi, but police no longer consider him a suspect.
McNair's mother, Lucille, told the media she will not follow the investigation into who murdered her son.
"I don't want to know," she told the The Tennessean, "Because the way I see it, it was the devil's work and [not] God's work."
A memorial service was held for McNair in Nashville on July 9, and he was buried in Mount Olive on July 11.
McNair, father of four sons, served 11 of 13 years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, and led the Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance following the 1999 season. He was also named the NFL's co-MVP in 2003 and played his last two seasons in Baltimore, leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record in 2006. McNair was the second African-American quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, and was one of three players in the history of the NFL to pass for more than 30,000 yards and rush for 3,500 yards.
