Girlfriend shot sleeping McNair

07-10-2009 | AP

Authorities rule the former quarterback's shootings a murder-suicide

Panama Star NASHVILLE. Former NFL star Steve McNair was shot dead in his sleep last week by a 20-year-old girlfriend distraught about mounting financial problems and her belief that he was seeing someone else, police said Wednesday.

Sahel Kazemi "was spinning out of control" when she shot McNair four times as he dozed on a sofa early Saturday, then turned the gun on herself, Nashville police chief Ronal Serpas said.

Interviews with friends revealed that she was making payments on two cars, her rent was doubling and she suspected the married McNair was having a second affair with another young woman.

She told a friend on Friday that "my life is a ball of s--- and I should end it," Serpas said.

McNair, 36, a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans most of his career, met Kazemi six months ago at a sports cafe, where she was a waitress.