The death of former Ravens and Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair this weekend was clearly a homicide, but it could be days before police will be able to classify the death of the woman found in the same condominium with a pistol underneath her body, Nashville, Tenn., authorities said Sunday.
McNair was shot four times - twice in the chest and twice in the head - according to police. Sahel Kazemi, 20, had a single gunshot wound to the side of her head. Police said they have been told that McNair, who is married, was dating Kazemi.
The 36-year-old McNair won a division title and 15 games in two seasons in Baltimore.
Police would not say whether they believe it was a murder-suicide but signaled that they were leaning strongly in that direction.
Asked at a news conference Sunday afternoon if the killer could be loose in Nashville, police spokesman Don Aaron said: "Based on the evidence at the scene and based on what we know from witnesses thus far, you can lean certain ways in the investigation.
"But you can't be close-minded in the investigation," Aaron added. "No possibilities have been ruled out. All scenarios are on the table as we talk to witnesses, as we wait for laboratory results."
Aaron said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was helping Nashville police trace the ownership of the semiautomatic pistol found underneath Kazemi. He said evidence at the scene was "consistent" with the gun, and the condominium showed no sign of forced entry.
One of Kazemi's relatives told The Tennessean of Nashville on Sunday that she doesn't believe the woman killed McNair or herself.
"All she was trying to do was have fun," said Sepideh Salmani, who is Kazemi's niece but was raised as her sister. "Nothing else. I believe there is a third person involved."
Kazemi told Salmani that McNair was getting divorced, The Tennessean reported.
"That's why she was like, 'OK, now you're divorcing. We can date,' " Salmani told the newspaper. "He told her, it was going to be finished, the whole divorce was going to be done, two weeks from yesterday."
The Tennessean said court records show no divorce is pending in Nashville, but McNair's home is for sale.
Aaron, the police spokesman, said McNair's wife, Mechelle, is "very distraught" and that police do not believe she was involved in the shootings.
Fred McNair, Steve McNair's eldest brother, said some family members would likely travel to Nashville today to consult with Mechelle McNair.
