R. Barri Flowers - Murder of a Star Quarterback: The Tragic Tale of Steve McNair & Sahel Kazemi (A True Crime Short)

Copyright 2013 by R. Barri Flowers atSmashwords. All rights reserved.

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TRUE CRIME BOOKS BY R. BARRI FLOWERS

The Dynamics of Murder: Kill or Be Killed

Masters of True Crime: Chilling Stories ofMurder and the Macabre (editor)

Murders in the UnitedStates: Crimes, Killers, and Victims of the20th Century

Prostitution in the Digital Age: Selling Sexfrom the Suite to the Street

Serial Killer Couples: Bonded by SexualDepravity, Abduction, & Murder

The Sex Slave Murders: The True Story ofSerial Killers Gerald & Charlene Gallego

TRUE CRIME SHORTS

Dead at the Saddleworth Moor: The Crimes ofIan Brady & Myra Hindley

Killers of the Lonely Hearts: The Tale ofSerial Killers Raymond Fernandez & Martha Beck

Mass Murder in the Sky: The Bombing of Flight629

Murder at the Pencil Factory: The Killing ofMary Phagan 100 Years Later

The Pickaxe Killers: Karla Faye Tucker &Daniel Garrett

The Sex Slave Murders 2: The Chilling Storyof Serial Killers Fred & Rosemary West

* * *

PRAISE FOR TRUE CRIME BOOKS BY R. BARRIFLOWERS

"Selected as one of Suspense Magazine's Bestof 2011 books." John Raab, CEO/Publisher of Suspense Magazine onTHE SEX SLAVE MURDERS

"A gripping account of the murders committedby husband-and-wife serial killers Gerald and Charlene Gallego." Gary C. King, author of Blood Lust on THE SEX SLAVEMURDERS

"R. Barri Flowers alwaysrelates an engrossing story." Robert Scott, author of The Last Time We Saw Her on THE SEXSLAVE MURDERS

"A model of exposition not to be missed byanyone interested in the annals of American criminal behavior." Jim Ingraham, Ph.D., professor emeritus of American Studies atBryant University on THE PICKAXE KILLERS

"Striking, well-writtentales sparkle in this ocean of murder." Diane Fanning, authorof Mommy's Little Girl on MASTERS OF TRUE CRIME

"Exhaustively researched,each storyteller brings their own unique prose to these pages,creating what will soon become a true crimeclassic . " Kevin M. Sullivan, author of The Bundy Murders on MASTERS OF TRUECRIME

"This book should be a mandatory purchaseand read for any true-crime buff." Steven A. Egger, Ph.D.,associate professor on MASTERS OF TRUE CRIME

"Incredible cases,psychopathic killers, unwitting victims, along with the very bestwriters, make for an exciting, no-holds-barred, soon-to-betrue-crime classic." Dan Zupansky, host of True Murder onMASTERS OF TRUE CRIME

"An indispensable sourcebook for anyoneinterested in American homicide, from law-enforcement professionalsto armchair criminologists." Harold Schechter, author of TheSerial Killer Files on THE DYNAMICS OF MURDER

"V ivid case studiesof murder to complement this well researched criminology text." Scott Bonn, Ph.D., criminology professor on THE DYNAMICS OFMURDER

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In memory of my dad, Johnnie H. Flowers, Sr.,the ultimate football fan.

And to all fans of true crime.

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TABLE OFCONTENTS

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The Tragic Tale of Steve McNair & SahelKazemi

Sahel Kazemi was a twenty-year-old waitress who wentfrom anonymity to the subject of national attention and interestwhen she shot her thirty-six -year-old lover, former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair,multiple times with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, fatallywounding him in a rented condominium in downtown Nashville,Tennessee on July 4, 2009. 1 Reportedly distraught over money issues and thebelief that the married McNair had another mistress, Kazemi thenturned the gun on herself and, with a single shot to the head,completed a murder-suicide. This type of tragedy typically involvesa love triangle, jealousy, financial problems, depression, and/ordesperation. In this case, the evidence points toward Kazemisetting a course in motion designed to end her life and that of theman she loved and apparently could not bear to see with anyoneelse.

* * *

Sahel Kazemiwas born in Iran on May 29, 1989. Growing up in Tehran asone of five children, tragedy struck the family early in Sahel's life when her mother, Ghodsyeh, was murdered in a home invasion robbery. Sahel was onlynine years old. According to her sister, Azadeh, there was no realinvestigation of the murder because the family belonged to theBaha'i faith rather than Muslim.2 Iranian Bah's had been historicallymarginalized in Iran, as a reflection of the religiousminority's persecution by Muslim clergy.

After moving from Iran to Turkey, Sahel livedthere for two and a half years, before relocating to the United States as an Iranian refugee on August 29, 2002. Thethirteen-year-old spoke no English when she took up residence inJacksonville, Florida with her sister, Soheyla, who becameher guardian.

According to those who knew her, Saheladjusted with relatively few problems to the American culture andteen lifestyle. She quickly became fluent in English, along withTurkish and Farsi. However, she had difficulty getting along withother students at school, some of whom bullied her, and moved fromone high school to another.

Her life seemed to get better after Sahel metKeith Norfleet. She dropped out ofschool at sixteen and moved from Jacksonville to Nashville,Tennessee with him to live together. The on and off relationshiplasted for four years and was described by some as"volatile."

According toNorfleet's stepmother, Trudie Norfleet, "They had a lot of jealousyin their relationship and they'd fight and break up alot." 3

Things between the two reached a breakingpoint in January 2009 when nearly six months after the couple hadbroken up, Sahel called 911 to report that Norfleet was displayingaggression toward her in the course of an argument betweenthem.

"My boyfriend just threw my phone right in myface, and he's going crazy, and I don't want him here," Sahel, whowent by the name "Jenni," as she called herself to friends andcolleagues, told the 911 operator.4

After being asked if she had been assaultedby Norfleet, Sahel responded, "No, he just threw a phone in myface."5

Because she was never actually struck by thephone otherwise during the incident, Norfleet was not charged withany crime.

Sahel Kazemimet Steve McNair in December 2008, at Dave & Buster's, abustling restaurant on Opry MillsDrive where she worked as a waitress. McNair, the former Tennessee Titans star quarterback who was now retired, frequentedthe place and was known as a bigtipper with an eye for attractive ladies. He and Sahel hit it offright away and soon after began dating.

The romancebetween McNair and the nineteen-year-old impressionable waitresswould come to a shocking and violent end.

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Stephen (Steve)LaTreal McNair, with thenickname of Air McNair, was born in Mount Olive, Mississippion February 14, 1973. After excelling in multiple sports at MountOlive High School, particularly football, he went to Alcorn State,a historically black university in Lorman, Mississippi. There, hejoined the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and soon became a starquarterback. As a senior, McNair racked up almost 6,000 yardspassing and rushing, as well as fifty-three touchdowns, breakingover a dozen records and named an All-American. He also won theWalter Payton Award in 1994 as the NCAA Division 1-AA top player,while finishing third in the Heisman Trophyvoting. 6