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Preliminary testing indicates a likely conclusion of murder-suicide in the deaths of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi, according to a state medical examiner, The Tennessean reported on its Web site Wednesday.

Feng Li, the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsies, told the paper that he will wait for the police investigation to close before he completes Kazemi’s death certificate to reflect that she died of suicide.

“The results were very consistent in supporting our decision,” Li said.

Authorities have already concluded that McNair’s death was a homicide.

Gunshot residue and ballistics testing were also consistent with a ruling of murder-suicide, Li said.

“With the lab tests to be obtained combined with the autopsy findings, we will put a final opinion on the death certificate,” Li told The Tennessean.

McNair was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest, while the 20-year-old Kazemi died from a single gunshot to the head. Under her body was a gun she had purchased less than two days before the killings.

Three of the shots that killed McNair were taken from a distance, but one of the shots to the temple came from just inches away.

The gun that killed Kazemi was in contact with her head when it discharged, medical examiner Bruce Levy said Tuesday.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback was being remembered Wednesday at the stadium where he played much of his career. The Tennessee Titans opened LP Field for fans to watch video highlights of McNair’s 13-year NFL career, look at photos of the quarterback and had a book for them to write messages that will be given to the family.

In a statement issued by the Nashville Police, it has been announced that ‘Chief Ronal Serpas will speak at a news conference today at 2:45 p.m. in regard to the shooting deaths of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi. The news conference will be held in the community room of the North Precinct located at 2231 26th Avenue North. This is the latest update as of now and more details are likely to be revealed at the news conference’.

Yesterday, it was reported that Detectives investigating the shooting deaths of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi have learned that the pistol believed to have been used, the same one recovered at the crime scene, was purchased by Kazemi from a private individual Thursday night.

Kazemi’s former boyfriend, Keith Norfleet, was interviewed by detectives at police headquarters Sunday evening. He was fully cooperative. Detectives are continuing to talk to persons who knew McNair and Kazemi as they work to learn the circumstances behind the shooting deaths.

On July 4, 2009, McNair was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, along with a female victim, 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, who was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, in a condominium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

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French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, who was recently banned for betting on matches, has died. He was 24.

The French tennis federation said Tuesday that Montcourt died overnight but “the causes of his death are not yet known.”

French media reported the 119th-ranked Montcourt was found dead by his girlfriend in the stairwell of his Paris apartment. In May, Montcourt was handed a five-week ban and fined $12,000 for betting on other matches. That ban took effect Monday.

“It is with great sadness that the French tennis federation has learned of the sudden death of Mathieu Montcourt,” the French tennis federation said. “Mathieu was an enthusiastic young man, passionate, very endearing, and extremely appreciated for his kindness and politeness.”

The federation said an autopsy will be conducted.

Montcourt complained during the French Open that the punishment was too harsh, saying that he never bet more than $3 at any time, and never on his own matches — a fact confirmed by the ATP, which oversees the men’s Tour.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. It reduced his suspension on appeal from eight weeks to five.

The issue of betting in tennis drew increased attention from the sport’s governing bodies after an online bookmaker voided all wagers on a 2007 match involving Nikolay Davydenko. About $7 million was bet — 10 times the usual amount for a similar-level match — and most of the money backed Davydenko’s lower-ranked opponent.

Davydenko was cleared in September after a yearlong investigation.

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Iconic and infamous music business entrepreneur Allen Klein has died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 77.

Klein — a controversial manager whose clients included Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles — founded Allen Klein & Co. in the late 1950s. Today, ABKCO is one of the world’s leading independent music companies.

The New Jersey-born accountant’s rise to fame began with Cooke, who he helped land an unprecedentedly lucrative recording deal in 1963. He then moved on to the Rolling Stones — and, when their relationship ended, he walked away with the rights to some of the band’s classic hits like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” He also represented the Beatles during the tumultuous months before their 1970 breakup.

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a dogged businessman with a take-no-prisoners negotiating style.

Klein is survived by his longtime girlfriend Iris Keitel, an ABKCO executive, and three adult children. Source

Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, who led the famous Tennessee Titans’ drive that came a yard short of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, was found dead Saturday with multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head. Police said a pistol was discovered near the body of a woman also shot dead in a downtown condominium.

Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron identified the woman as 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, whom he called a “friend” of McNair’s. She had a single gunshot wound to the head.

Police said the 36-year-old McNair was found on the sofa in the living room, and Kazemi was very close to him on the floor. Aaron said the gun was not “readily apparent” when police first arrived.

Autopsies were planned for Sunday.

Aaron said McNair’s wife, Mechelle, is “very distraught.”

“At this juncture, we do not believe she is involved,” he said. “Nothing has been ruled out, but as far as actively looking for a suspect tonight, the answer would be no.”

Fred McNair, Steve McNair’s oldest brother, said some family members likely will travel to Nashville on Monday to consult with Steve McNair’s wife.

“It’s still kind of hard to believe,” Fred McNair said. “He was the greatest person in the world. He gave back to the community. He loved kids and he wanted to be a role model to kids.”

He said he did not know who Kazemi was.

The bodies were discovered Saturday afternoon by McNair’s longtime friend, Wayne Neeley, who said he rents the condo with McNair.

Aaron said Neeley told authorities he went into the condo, saw McNair on the sofa and Kazemi on the floor but walked first into the kitchen before going back into the living room, where he saw the blood.

Neeley then called a friend, who alerted authorities.

Police said a witness saw McNair arrive at the condo in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Saturday and that Kazemi’s vehicle was already there. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans’ stadium.

Two days ago, Nashville police arrested Kazemi on a DUI charge while driving a 2007 Escalade registered to her and McNair. McNair was in the front seat, but didn’t break the law and was allowed to leave by taxi.

The arrest affidavit said Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath, but refused a breathalyzer test, saying “she was not drunk, she was high.”

McNair and his family frequented the restaurant where Kazemi was a waitress, according employees and patrons of Dave & Buster’s in Nashville. Keith Norfleet, Kazemi’s ex-boyfriend, told The Tennessean newspaper that McNair and Kazemi met at the restaurant.

“She was reliable 90 percent of the time,” manager Chris Truelove said of Kazemi. “She was pretty outgoing. A lot of the guests liked being around her, and she liked being around the guests.”

Co-worker Shantez Jobe, 33, she said was friends with Kazemi.

“We talked about who had more fashion sense, and who was the cutest, and who could get more boys, you know some of the stuff girls do,” Jobe said.

In June, McNair opened a restaurant near the Tennessee State University campus. It was closed Saturday evening, but had become a small memorial, where flowers, candles and notes had been placed outside the door.

On the restaurant’s windows were messages: “We will miss you Steve” and “We love you Steve.”

A note attached to a small blue teddy bear read, “We will never forget you, Steve. Once a Titan, always a Titan.”

“We don’t know the details, but it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the families involved,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

McNair, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams. He was co-MVP of the NFL with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in 2003. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens before retiring in April 2008.

His most notable moment came in that Super Bowl, when he led the Titans 87 yards in the final minute and 48 seconds, only to come up a yard short of the tying touchdown. Kevin Dyson caught his 9-yard pass, but was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Rams’ Mike Jones.

McNair accounted for all of Tennessee’s yards in that drive, throwing for 48 yards and rushing for 14. The rest of the yardage came on penalties against the Rams. Before that, he brought the Titans back from a 16-0 deficit to tie the game.

“If you were going to draw a football player, the physical part, the mental part, everything about being a professional, he is your guy,” former Ravens and Titans teammate Samari Rolle said. “I can’t even wrap my arms around it. It is a sad, sad day. The world lost a great man today.”

McNair grew up in rural Mount Olive, Miss., and became a nationally known college football star playing for Alcorn State, a Division I-AA school in his home state. He was so dominant in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, he became a Heisman Trophy contender. National media flocked to little Lorman in the southwest corner of the Magnolia state to get a look at “Air McNair.” He still holds the Division I-AA (now known as Football Championship Subdivision) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823).

McNair was the third overall draft pick in 1995 by the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Titans. He finished his career with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. McNair’s rugged style led to numerous injuries and aches. He played with pain for several years, and the injuries ultimately forced him to retire.

“On the field, there isn’t a player that was as tough as him, especially at the quarterback position,” the Ravens’ Derrick Mason said. “What I have seen him play through on the field, and what he dealt with during the week to get ready for a game, I have never known a better teammate.”

During a five-game stretch at the end of the 2002 season, McNair was so bruised he couldn’t practice. But he started all five games and won them, leading the Titans to an 11-5 record and a berth in the AFC championship game for the second time in four seasons.

McNair played all 16 games in 2006, his first season in Baltimore, and guided the Ravens to a 13-3 record. But he injured his groin during the season opener in 2007 and never regained the form that put him in those Pro Bowls.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of today’s tragic news regarding the death of Steve McNair. He was a player who I admired a great deal,” said New England Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese, who was GM of the Titans when McNair played for them. “He was a tremendous leader and an absolute warrior. He felt like it was his responsibility to lead by working hard every day, no matter what.”

Titans coach Jeff Fisher was out of the country, taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour to Iraq.

Ozzie Newsome, Ravens executive vice president and general manager, said he immediately thought of McNair’s four sons.

“This is so, so sad. We immediately think of his family, his boys. They are all in our thoughts and prayers,” he said “What we admired most about Steve when we played against him was his competitive spirit, and we were lucky enough to have that with us for two years. He is one of the best players in the NFL over the last 20 years.”

No funeral arrangements have been made.

Associated Press Writer Emily Wagster Pettus in Mount Olive, Miss., AP Writers Randall Paul Dickerson and Lucas L. Johnson II in Nashville, Tenn., and AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.  Source