Nashville police concluded that Steve McNair was shot by his girlfriend, Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi, who then died by suicide. McNair was found dead with Kazemi in a Nashville condominium on July 4, 2009. Police announced the murder-suicide conclusion on July 8.
The medical examiner classified McNair’s individual death as a homicide, while investigators concluded that Kazemi was the person who killed him. Later reporting questioned parts of the investigation, but no publicly documented alternative killer has displaced the official finding.
The short answer: police said Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi killed Steve McNair
Steve McNair was killed in Nashville, Tennessee, during the July 4, 2009 holiday weekend. The former NFL quarterback was found in a downtown condominium with Kazemi, who was also dead from a gunshot wound.
After reviewing the scene, the weapon, forensic evidence, text messages and the circumstances surrounding the couple, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department concluded that Kazemi shot McNair and then killed herself. Police Chief Ronal Serpas publicly announced that conclusion on July 8, 2009. Contemporary reporting of the police announcement described the case as a murder-suicide rather than an unsolved killing by an unknown assailant.
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That is the official answer. It is important, however, to separate the official conclusion from the medical terminology and from later speculation.
Why the medical report says “homicide”
An available copy of the Davidson County medical-examiner report identifies McNair as 36 years old, lists July 4, 2009 as his date of death, and gives his cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds. It classifies the manner of his death as homicide. The report’s scene narrative says McNair was found on a couch and that another deceased person was found on the floor near his feet. The publicly circulated copy of the report is available here.
There is no contradiction between that medical classification and the police phrase “murder-suicide.” In a murder-suicide, the person who dies because another person shot them is recorded as a homicide victim. The second death is classified separately as a suicide. “Homicide” describes how McNair died; it does not identify the shooter by itself.
The copy linked above is hosted by a public records archive rather than directly by a Davidson County government case page. It should therefore be treated as an available copy of the medical-examiner report, not as evidence that the archive is the official custodian.
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What investigators reported about the shootings
Investigators and contemporaneous news reports said McNair was shot four times: twice in the head and twice in the chest. Kazemi died from a single gunshot wound. Those details come from reporting based on police and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation findings, rather than from an independent examination by this article. The Washington Post reported those findings at the time.
Police said their reconstruction was that Kazemi shot McNair while he was asleep or dozing and then shot herself. Investigators described Kazemi as being under financial and emotional stress and as believing that McNair was involved with another woman. They also said the relationship had deteriorated shortly before the deaths.
Those statements describe the investigative theory. They should not be expanded into unsupported claims about Kazemi’s mental health or motives beyond what police reported.
The gun and the reported chain of ownership
The handgun became an important part of the police case. Authorities said Kazemi had purchased the 9mm semiautomatic pistol less than two days before the shootings. The weapon was reportedly a Bryco/Jennings pistol.
Investigators traced the gun through a 2002 pawn-shop sale. It was later sold to Kazemi by Adrian Gilliam, a convicted felon. Gilliam was charged federally with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and contemporary reporting said he admitted selling Kazemi the 9mm pistol for $100. The Washington Post reported on the weapon’s reported history and Gilliam’s case.
This evidence supported the conclusion that Kazemi had recently obtained the gun found at the condominium. It did not, by itself, prove every detail of what happened inside the room. The police conclusion rested on the weapon alongside the physical evidence, investigative interviews, communications and the broader circumstances of the deaths.
The timeline from initial homicide investigation to murder-suicide ruling
| Date | What was reported |
|---|---|
| July 3–4, 2009 | McNair and Kazemi remained in contact. Investigators later examined text messages exchanged during the hours before the deaths and described Kazemi as experiencing financial and emotional pressure. |
| Early July 4 | McNair was shot in the Nashville condominium he rented. Kazemi was also fatally shot at the scene. Initial police statements treated McNair’s death as a homicide while investigators processed the evidence. |
| July 6–7 | Authorities confirmed that the gun found at the scene had been purchased by Kazemi shortly before the killings. Police said murder-suicide was becoming the leading explanation but did not immediately make a final public determination. |
| July 8 | Nashville police announced that Kazemi had killed McNair and then herself. Police cited the physical evidence, the weapon, Kazemi’s circumstances and the investigative record. |
| October–December 2009 | CBS reporting raised questions about aspects of the investigation. Police released additional case material and continued to stand by the murder-suicide conclusion. Later reporting described a final investigative file containing hundreds of pages of statements, diagrams and laboratory analysis. |
Contemporary coverage of the initial ruling helps explain why early reports used the term homicide before police announced the more specific murder-suicide conclusion. The initial classification reflected the fact that McNair had been killed by another person; it was not an announcement that an unknown third-party murderer had been identified.
Why some people continued to question the case
The official conclusion was reached within days, and that speed contributed to public skepticism. Later CBS reporting raised what it described as serious questions about the police probe. The concerns included:
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- Whether the condominium was fully secured before some people entered it;
- Whether investigators reached the murder-suicide theory too quickly;
- Questions involving the gun seller and the weapon’s history;
- Questions about Kazemi’s contacts and communications; and
- Whether all investigative leads and information were handled or released consistently.
CBS’s later report details the criticisms of the investigation. Those criticisms are part of the public history of the case and are relevant when assessing how confidently the conclusion was reached.
But questioning an investigation is not the same as proving a different killer. The available reporting does not establish that a third party killed McNair, that the scene was staged, or that police knowingly concealed another perpetrator. Nor does the supplied record establish that the case was reopened or that another suspect displaced Kazemi in the official findings.
Fact, official conclusion and speculation
| Category | What can responsibly be said |
|---|---|
| Medical finding | McNair died from multiple gunshot wounds. The available medical-examiner report classifies his manner of death as homicide. |
| Police conclusion | Nashville police concluded that Kazemi shot McNair and then died by suicide. |
| Documented controversy | Later journalists and commentators questioned scene access, investigative timing, the weapon’s history, contacts and the handling of leads. |
| Unproven theory | Claims that an unidentified third party killed McNair, that the scene was staged or that authorities concealed the truth remain unproven by the record summarized here. |
McNair’s football legacy and the attention surrounding the case
McNair’s prominence made the killings an unusually high-profile story. He had been a celebrated quarterback for the Tennessee Titans and later the Baltimore Ravens, and the deaths occurred during a major holiday weekend in Nashville. His public stature encouraged intense coverage, but it also created conditions in which rumor and sensational retellings could spread quickly.
The football context matters for understanding the level of public interest, not for determining who fired the shots. The relevant evidence remains the medical record, the physical and forensic evidence described by investigators, the weapon’s reported chain of ownership and the investigative file.
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Further reading and viewing
Readers looking for a case-specific book-length account can look for Playbook to a Murder, while checking current editions and retailer availability. It is a secondary account and should be read alongside, not instead of, official records and contemporaneous reporting.
For a visual follow-up, Untold: The Murder of Air McNair examines McNair’s career and the 2009 investigation. It is a documentary retelling, not a substitute for the medical-examiner report or the police record. Availability can vary by country and may change over time.
Conclusion: who killed Steve McNair?
The evidence-based answer is that Nashville police concluded Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi shot Steve McNair and then died by suicide. McNair’s death was medically classified as a homicide, which is consistent with that conclusion.
The investigation was later disputed by journalists who questioned the speed and handling of parts of the inquiry. Those questions explain why the case remains debated, but they do not amount to proof of an alternative perpetrator. On the publicly documented record addressed here, the official murder-suicide finding remains the conclusion that has not been displaced.
Sources and attribution
- NFL.com report on the July 8 police announcement.
- Available copy of the Davidson County medical-examiner report.
- Washington Post reporting on the shooting findings.
- Washington Post reporting on the gun’s reported path and seller.
- CBS reporting on questions raised about the investigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Steve McNair’s case officially considered unsolved?
No. Nashville police announced on July 8, 2009, that they had concluded Kazemi killed McNair and then died by suicide. Later criticism of the investigation did not publicly establish an alternative killer.
Why is McNair’s death called a homicide if police said it was a murder-suicide?
The medical examiner’s “homicide” classification describes McNair’s individual death: he was killed by another person. “Murder-suicide” describes the investigators’ conclusion about both deaths—Kazemi killed McNair and then killed herself.
Did later reports prove that someone else killed Steve McNair?
No. Later reporting raised questions about scene security, investigative timing, the weapon and other leads. Those questions disputed aspects of the investigation, but they did not prove that a third party was responsible.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Authorities concluded that Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi killed Steve McNair and then died by suicide. McNair’s death was classified as a homicide in the medical record. Although later reporting challenged parts of the investigation, no publicly documented alternative perpetrator has displaced that official finding.
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