Woman with McNair bought gun found at scene

updated 6:23 p.m. ET July 6, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Police say the gun found at the scene where former NFL star Steve McNair died was bought by his girlfriend less than two days before the two were shot to death.

Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Monday that 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi bought the semiautomatic handgun Thursday evening from a person he didn’t name.

An autopsy showed that McNair and Kazemi died early Saturday. He was shot four times and his death has been ruled a homicide. She was shot once and Aaron said police are still waiting for ballistic and gunpowder residue tests before deciding if she was slain or committed suicide.

Their bodies were found in a Nashville condominium leased by McNair, who was 36.

Aaron said that as far as he knows McNair was not with Kazemi when she got the gun.

Her nephew, Farzin Abdi said police told him about the gun purchase by his aunt Sahel Kazemi, who was raised with him like a sister. The 27-year-old said he doesn’t believe she would do it. Abdi didn’t know what day of the week the gun was purchased or what type of gun it was.

“There was no way she was depressed and wanting to do this,” he said. “She was so happy. ... She just had it made, you know, (with) this guy taking care of everything.”

Nashville police didn’t immediately have a response to Abdi’s comments.

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Abdi said Kazemi believed McNair was divorcing his wife and she was preparing to sell her furniture to move in with him.

Nashville courts had no record of a McNair divorce case, but a 14,000-square-foot home he owned in Nashville is on the market for $3 million.

Mechelle McNair has been described as very distraught about her husband’s death and has not commented on it.

Police labeled his death a homicide Sunday, revealing McNair had been shot four times — twice in the head, twice in the chest — when found in a rented condominium he shared with a longtime friend, Wayne Neeley. Police found a semiautomatic pistol under Kazemi’s body.

But police spokesman Don Aaron said they were reviewing every possibility, interviewing friends of both and an ex-boyfriend before labeling Kazemi’s death.

A viewing will be held Thursday at a Nashville funeral home, followed by another viewing at Mount Zion Baptist Church with a memorial service Thursday night. A funeral service will be held Saturday in Mississippi, but final details were not set.

McNair met Kazemi at the Dave & Buster’s restaurant where she worked as a server and where his family ate often. The two began dating a few months ago in a relationship that included a vacation with parasailing. Photos posted on TMZ.com showed McNair gazing and smiling at the young Kazemi.

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