give us the headlines for the upcoming show. >> a puzzle for children. you see, you start here. there was a time when he seemed indestructible. on the field and off. >> tough inside the pocket, quiet leader. >> as long as i can come home and kiss my kids and enjoy my

family, i'm fine. >> but behind the public face, another life. >> there is a private side of steve mcnair that a lot of people didn't want to know about. >> unfortunately, his celebrity created more exposure for his license. >> stories of a star athlete playing the field. >> he made no effort to hide publicly that they were in a relationship? >> oh, no. she fell in love with him. she was crazy about him. >> but had he also played with fire? >> there's evidence she was spinning out of control. >> what's going on? >> it's two people. >> it was a shock. >> do you accept the inside version of what happened? >> no. >> the blist temysterious death titan. good evening, and welcome to "dateline." i'm lester holt. tonight, the most complete picture yet of what happened to steve mcnair, the former nfl quarterback, and hometown hero, found shot to death in july.

nine years ago, mcnair led his team, the tennessee titans, to the super bowl. but tonight, in candid conversations, iiders reveal what may have led him to a life in which he found far more danger off the field than he ever faced on it. nashville, tennessee, saturday, the fourth day of an unusually cool july. reporter josh divine wasn't all that happy toe going to work. >> i had friends who were going to be barbecuing like everybody else was on the fourth of july. but i had to be here. i walked in my door, 2:00, like i normally do. sat down at my desk and checked e-mail. >> it promised to be a slow workdown to fireworks and then -- >> we had heard about this shooting in nashville with two victims. your ears always perk up when you hear that kind of thing. >> before divine could get out the door to check it out, the

news bought much, much bigger. >> i got it from one of our repters who said i have it on good authority that this may be steve mcthey're. >> steve mcnair, in nashville, had was a local hero. >> my initial reaction was, what, got to be kidding me? >> steve mcnair had quarterbacked the tennessee titans to the super bowl. known for his grace for charity and off of it, mcnair retired in 2006. divine rushed to the reported scene of a shooting, not mcnair's multimillion dollar home in the suburbs but a modest apartment near downtown. >> a no one really had a sense that it was steve mcnair except for us. it seemed like we were the only ones that had been tipped off to that. but, everyone know that it was certainly serious. i mean, had you police all over the place, you had detectives all over the place. >> while divine tried to confirm

the tip word was spreading. eddie george is a friend and former teammate. >> i want to you take me back to july 4th. >> it was an eerie day. i got a phone call from friends saying, have you heard that steve was shot at a party last night? i said, come on man, that doesn't sound right. >> joseph walker is the mcnair family minister and friend. >> the news was scattered and it was involved. text messages coming back and forth about what mig have happened. maybe steve had been shot, but, you know, maybe some fight had taken place. maybe he'd be shot in the arm. nobody thought the worst. >> but back at the apartment, medical examiner lee knew at that worst had happened. >> i responded to the scene and i saw two victims, one male and one female. the male victim was obviously

mr. mcnair. i recognized him right away. >> mcnair's wife mechelle was at home. pastor watkins arrived just minutes later when police notified her of mcnair's death. >> i think there was a sense of denial. and it became very, very real. all i got to do is embrace mechelle and embrace the boy. and a moment i'll never forget the rest of my life. >> the family's grieve didn't stay private for long. this is channel 4 news. >> steve mcnair has been shot and killed. we're still tracking the breaking news. >> eddie george and his wife drove to mcnair's house. it was total silence. crying, hugging. and just shock. >> back at the apartment, the

crime scene, josh divine saw first hand that it was not just friends and family who mourned steve mcnair. >> people literally came out of the wood work. and it was an interesting cross section of nashville. i think there was this general sense that people were whole harded heartedly stunned. that a guy died this way. >> what way? >> he hl a key to the apartment he returned call big daddy gotdy. gaddy rushed to the scene. >> when i walked to the room, that's the vision i'll be haunted with for the rest of my life. that's not the way i ever thought i'd ever want to remember one of my best friends. >> it was gaddy who called 911. >> somebody's been shot. there's two bullet wounds, two

gunshots. >> a male or female. >> two, there's two people. >> two people? >> yeah. >> in time, the actions of both men would raise questions. but that first day, it was something else that caught everyone's attention. >> the examination of the bodies shows that mcnair was hit multiple times, including a gunshot wound to the head. his female friend, miss kazemi suffered one gunshot wound to the head. >> female friend? sahel kazemi, the second victim, was just 20 years old. >> from what i understand, she was a friend. she was a friend of mcnair's. the vehicle was registered to both her and mcnair. >> the black escalade was parked near the apartment.

>> do you know of anybody that we can call? it began to seem that steve mcnair had a secret life. >> were you angry at all with steve when you heard the circumstances of his death? >> not angry, disappointed. >> how did this beloved and richly paid athlete in just a few short years go from the pinnacle of his sport to a violent death in a tiny apartment? was steve mcair done in by his own bad decisions? or was there a deeper mystery here? how and why did the titan fall? coming up -- how it all began. a small town boy becomes a big-time athlete. but was steve mcnair prepared for everything that came with fame and fortune. >> it's a mean business. and you can get taken advantage of very easily. >> when the mysterious death of a titan continues. foot fungi to feast on.

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♪ when steve mcnair died, thousands of people came to pay their respects to a man they may never have met but considered a hero. a small-town boy who made it to the top but never forgot where he came from. drive about 50 miles southeast of jackson, mississippi, and you'll come to mt. olive. a one-lane town of 1,000 souls that proudly identifies itself as the home of steve mcnair. mayor robert mcnair no relation, knew steve as boy. >> he was also a quiet and amenable person. with people, it would be yes,

ma'am, no, sir. >> steve was born on valentine's day 1973. one of five boys raised in home by a single mom. >> did you ever think it was go to come this good? >> no, i never thought it was going to be that good. people always told me i was like my brother, he was in my school, the best quarterback. >> mcnair played football and he transformed into a powerhouse. >> look at the tacklers spinning, nobody's going to catch him! >> in 1995, houston oilers drafted mcnair in the first round, signing him to a seven-year contract that paid $28 million and changed his whole life. >> you literally go from depending on your background, not having anything, to overnight having anything you want.

>> eddie george knows exactly what it's like to be young, rich and a superstar. the oilers drafted him in the first round, too, just a year after mcnair. >> you know, you walk into a situation where you have millions of dollars and it's guaranteed. >> how do people treat you, friends, strangers? >> oh, you're their best friend. you go from being a funny looking guyo being the best looking guy in the world, you know. >> what's not to like? >> i mean, it's a great lifestyle. but the flip side of it, it's a mean business. and you can get taken advantage of very easily. >> mcnair seemed to take it in stride. in 1997, he married his college sweetheart. he and mechelle had two sons. steve also had two older boys from previous relationships. mechelle became the very image of the supportive nfl wife. >> i always tell you i'm behind you 100%. we're your family, we're there

for you. >> but george says all of it, money, fame, women come at you so fast, it can be hard to handle. >> we all face struggles, but as a professional athlete, it just seems like the temptation must be rolling in front of you all the time? >> oh, yeah, you walk out in the clubs and people recognize you, and it's like flies. you know, they're attracted to the light. >> some players have reputations as womanizers. steve mcnair was not one of them. >> because he was a famous athlete and because of the circumstances of his death, people jump to the stereotype. that's what it's like being a pro athlete. >> no, that's what it's like being a man. that's what it's like being a man, period. it's not about pro athlete entertainers, doctors, priests, pastors, all men have struggles. it's not about an athlete, no. >> brenda thomas argues that's exactly what it's about.

>> you have all these women coming after you, it's hard to resist. >> an acknowledged expert on the topic of athletes and women, she once workeds a personal assistant to nba star stephon marbury. she says she's seen it all. >> they're seeking you because they want a piece of the money. some women, it's not even about the money. it's just about being next to the athlete to being able to have a notch on their belt, saying i've been with that person, i hung out with them. >> eddie george acknowledges that sports celebrities expose themselves to all sorts of things when you meet women. >> it's beautiful, they paint a beautiful picture in the beginning. oh, yes, i'm independent, i'm doing my own hing. i don't need your money. as you peel back the onion, you're starting to discover, you're not as dependent as you thought. now, you're asking me for a

loan. and wanted me to buy you a car, you want prada. you want to go shopping. >> this happens? >> this happens. >> every relationship is potential radio act tiff? >> absolutely. it can turn out that way. i'm not saying all women are like that. some women are definitely independent, but in that world, it attracts that because it's easy street. you know, it's a business, you think about it. women, they get pregnant by athletes, guess what, you're set for the rest of your life until your child is 18, depending upon the contract, depending upon the jackpot you that hit. >> yet, steve mcnair seemed to avoid all the pitfalls, a celebrity who didn't act like it. he used some of his nfl money to build his mom a nice home in mt. olive. 645 acres on newly cristianed air mcnair road. he sponsored football camps for

kids. he was a major benefactor of the boys and girls clubs. >> when hurricane katrina hit, he called a whole community together. we all were taking food down to to new orleans. that's the kind of person he was. >> we're trying to make the people as comfortable as possible. >> seeing the devastation that happened down here, these people left with nothing. what we're doing is small compared to what they actually need. >> publicly it seemed that steve mcnair relied on his roots to keep him grounded. but privately, there is another story. >> there's a private side of steve mcnair that came out that a lot of people didn't want to know about. >> those who knew that private side said that while the death may have been ing one ing wasn't. >> if you're a person that goes out in this town, you are not surprised to know that steve mcnair was with a young woman

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♪ we've heard about your sword selection, ve seen it before. how did you get into swords? >> i got into it. and the thing about it, it's all about power. it's all about being that control. any coward can go out and shoot a gun and hurt somebody. but it takes a real man to go out and fight with a sword. >> steve mcnair could afford to collect swords or pretty much anything else he wanted. it's estimated he made as much as $90 million over the course of his nfl career. >> what kind of leader was he? what kind of tone did he set for

the team? >> oh, steve was a quiet leader. so tough inside the pocket. i mean, he would get up at the place, liing, out of breath. >> he wasn't afraid to take a hit? >> no. >> mcnair led his team from a move from texas to tennessee. they fought their way through a super bowl in 2000. >> the town, the city, the entire state was on fire. >> the fairy tale ended with a heart-breaker, the titans lost on the last play of the game. but nashville calls itself america's friendliest city. and fans there greeted the super bowl losers like conquering heroes. >> it was almost like we won the game and steve was the mvp of the game. you know, we didn't win, we lost. but i guess we won the admiration of fans. >> the titans never recaptured the magic of that super bowl run, but mcnair played on.

>> it's not the end of the world, as long as i can come home and kiss my kids and enjoy my family, i'm fine. >> life in the nfl can be tough. and mcnair had his share of problems. in 2003, the star quarterback was arrested for driving under the influence and illegal possession of a handgun. but charges were eventually dismissed. but mcnair faced difficulties on field as well. injuries began piling up, despite or maybe because of mcnair's legendary toughness. his wife, mechelle, a registered nurse often tended to steve's injuries. >>oueed medication to get you through the game but when it wears off, he's in agony, he can't -- he's like a baby, basically. he can't move. >> in 2007, another dui arrest. although charges were dismissed again, mcnair was remorseful. >> i want to apologize to my teammates, coaches, this organization for putting myself

in a situation of this magnitude. this is another hurdle i just got to jump over, butlut iil w bounce ilback. >> by the time he retired in 2008, after two seasons with the baltimore ravens, steve mcnair was rich, famous and just 35 years old. sounds great but eddie george, who's also retired, says it can be anything but. >> does anybody prepare four that moment when you take off the pads for the last time? >> no, no. no one prepares you -- you can't prepare for that. you can't. literallyep stping out of the role aypl ginhe t playing the f player, getting ready to play every single sunday of being a warrior. and being the face of a franchise. pumping up the crowd, running for touchdowns, to now being a civilian. now, you're like, what do i do with my life? >> the public phase of steve mcnair and retirement revolved

around his charitable foundation as a restaurant he opened in nashville. >> this is a signature food that everybody in mississippi loves. >> from the outside, steve mcnair looked like he was doing okay? >> absolutely. but i wasn't aware of his personal life. i can understand -- he was probably searching for something. you know, he's was probably searching for happiness. >> but maybe he was looking in the wrong places. >> if you are a person that goes out in this town that pays any attention you were not surprised to know that steve mcnair was with a young woman when he died. >> sarah dorsey of wsvb in nashville reported extensively about the steve mcnair case. people wouldn't talk on camera, but they would talk. >> he never seemed to hide. he was often seen with women. >> women, in other words, who were not his wif mcnair's longtime minister

acknowledged it, too. >> i think that steve, unfortunately, his celebrity created more exposure for his vices. >> sometime in december 2008 steve mcnair went to the opry land mall to a place called dave & buster's. it's there that steve mcnair, age 35, rich, famous and retired without the roar of the crowd met a 19-year-old waitress named sahel kazemi. >> i mean, was she really into him? >> she was. she was crazy about him. >> mcnair couldn't hear it but the clock was ticking. >> coming up, the married mcnair takes unwith the waitressn'a cwo doesn't em to care who knows it. >> if i ran into them in a restaurant, i would think that's boyfriend and girlfriend? >> yeah, yeah.

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♪ it wasn't about his status or what he drove or what he could give her.

she really fell hard for him. >> emily andrews probably knows as much alive about steve mcnair and kazemi. he was kazemi's roommate. >> we lived together, we socialized together. so there wasn't a day when we lived in nashville together where i didn't know what she was doing or she didn't know what i was doing. >> did most of her friends know her as jennie? >> yeah. >> i'm curious where she got that name. >> i guess she looked like a jennie. >> she was four years older. and jennie confided in her. >> she was born in iran and oved to turkey. when she was 14 years old she

moved to jacksonville with her family. she told me about her mother. >> what happened to her mother? >> believe she was strangled to death, they never found the killer. jennie was just 9 years old at the time. >> she had kind of used that story as a way to really love and appreciate her own life and love and appreciate the people that she loved, their lives. >> jennie moved to nashville at age 16 with her boyfriend keith norfleet, an aspiring rapper who placed videos on youtube. but while waiting tables one day in december, jennie met a new guy. >> she told you about this guy steve? >> yeah. >> did you know who she was? >> no, because i'm not from nashville. >> i had no idea who he was. >> she said he's a former pro football player. >> i was like, okay. big deal. >> she said steve's fame didn't seem to phase jennie either?

>> she wasn't a groupie? >> not a football fan? >> no, you couldn't get her to sit for a game. maybe she liked the fact that she really just took him for being a normal guy. she didn't treat him like he was this huge cebrity which he was kind of used to getting, i think. >> she says the relationship developed rapidly. >> they hung out around christmastime for the first time. and then i remember in january, i dropped her off at his house. and after that, it was just kind of like they had really started to like each other. and they were dating. it wasn't just, you know, hang out every now and then. they were dating. >> there's dating and having fun. and there's dating, i'm serious and i'm falling in love? >> uh-huh. >> which was this? >> i mean, she fell in love with him, if that's what you're asking. she was crazy about him. >> remember, jennie was 19 at

the time. 16 years younger than mcnair. >> the age difference didn't make a difference to her? >> no, we joked about it. nothing to worry her. >> of course, there was this uncomfortable fact? >> at what point did you realize that steve mcnair was married? >> she knew right away. she was under the impression they were going through a divorce. >> neighbors told us that they saw mcnair so often at emily and jennie's apartment, they thought he would move in. that was in february two months after the couple met. >> he made no effort to hide the relationship? >> 0, no. >> if i ran into them at a restaurant, i would think that's boyfriend and girlfriend? >> yeah. we were in clubs and people saw they were dating. we had been out before without him, and someone said, you're steve mcnair's girlfriend, aren't you? so it wasn't -- it wasn't a big secret. >> which leads to about obvious

question. if everybody seemed to know, did mcnair's wife know? mechell mcnair has not spoken publicly since the murder. she has reportedly told friends she didn't know about kazemi, which is not the same as knowing her husband was seeing her women. >> nashville is a very small town. i can't believe that mechelle mcnair didn't know what steve was up to. >> is there an unspoken acceptance among the families of athletes? >> could be, i don't know. i'm pretty sure it's not. i'm pretty sure if someone is married to an athlete they know what's out there. >> emily said she and jennie tagged along. jennie's family told us mcnair told her to his mommy in mississippi. he and jennie took at least one other trip together, too. and mcnair didn't seem shy about being photographed with her. jennie started spending more

time at steve's downtown apartment. >> it was a small bachelor pad, pretty much. i mean, there weren't pictures on the wall. >> was it your place or jennie's impression that this was steve's full-time residence. >> no, neither of us believed that. we knew it was kind of his place to g away. >> is this where they hooked up? >> yeah. >> in may, jennie turned 20. steve helped her buy a present she'd always dreamed of, a black cadillac escalade. >> he put the down payment on the car, and she wanted to make monthly payments but it was under both of their names. >> but it had to be a pretty good clunk of change. >> in june, emily decided to move back home to pittsburgh. she shed she pumped into him at one of his favorite bars. >> i took him aside and told him watch after her. and don't hurt her.

that's my best friend. if you really love her, then really, you know, do a good job at loving her. he looked at me in the eyes and said, emily, i love her and i'll take care of her for you. >> words that proved to be unforgetably ironic. coming up -- two days before the murder, emily gets omg blinnephol c al trfrblg phone call from the jennie. >> she said, you'll never believe what happened, i said, oh, no, what? >> when "dateline" continues. audrey, kim, d karen e united by one simple thing... they're frugalistas who shop target.

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♪ on june 24th, ten days before the shooting, vera of decatur, alabama was passing

through nashville for lunch. she stopped at lunch at dave & buster's. she came to our table and said she's jennie, she's going to be our waitress. >> i said, my girls want to know can they take a picture of you. what she did. she never had an expression. she just kind of put her arms around my daughter and took the picture. i said, oh, she's kind of stuck up. >> but it turned out jennie was not stuck up. she was troubled. she asked me can i talk to you. i said, sure. she sat down in front of me, this young lady asked me was, have i ever been in love? she went on to tell me she's zating a guy and she have been dating six months. and she said she was dating steve mcnair. >> why would jennie kazemi sit down in the middle of the day and share her personal story

with a perfect stranger? >> she said lately it's like she didn't want to spend time with me. >> emily andrews had moved back to pittsburgh a few days earlier. she said jennie seemed convinced steve was going to leave his wife for her. >> from what she had told me, his divorce was supposed to be finalized within weeks. >> of course, emily, it all comes out now there's no record of any divorce proceedings between the two of them. >> i know. he clearly told her that to keep her around. >> but now, it seemed maybe steve was moving on. >> had you heard that he had a reputation for fooling around? >> yeah, i had heard that. i heard that he went out more than he said that he did. and hung out with girls. >> did jennie ever raise concerns or questions that maybe he was seeing someone else? >> yeah, she had her doubts.

but she never really told me that she was worried about anything o tthat i was stressing her atou >> but police say jennie staked out mcnair's downtown apartment one day and followed a woman she saw leaving. on july 1st. she called emily. >> she had found some used feminine products in his bathroom of his condo. i guess, the wednesday before. the 4th of july. >> this is the wednesday before the murder? yeah. she asked me for my advice. i couldn't really give her any because i've never been in that situation, but she kind of -- we ended the conversation as her saying i really don't know what to do. >> was she upset? >> yeah, she was upset. >> just hours later in the early morning hours of july 2nd, a nashville police officer pulled over the black escalade,

jennie's dream car. >> 84 miles an hour. >> she was doing 54 in a 30-mile-an-hour zone. steve mcnair was in the passenger seat, apparently drunk. remarkably, it was the same officer who arrested mcnair for dui in 2007. the dashboard cam of the patrol car shows jennie steps out in a short dress and platform heels. the officer puts her through a sobriety test. she tells him she isn't drunk but she is high. moments later, mcnair and another man exit the passenger side of the vehicle. then they get in separate cabs and leave. in the patrol car, under arrest for dui. jennie seems surprised. >> can i call him? >> he just left here. i told him you wanted to talk to him. he was more than welcome to come back and tox to you.

>> when you heard later when he left the scene where she was arrested? >> i was mad. if you see the footage, she's in the back seat, broken-hearted and nfused. she's never been arrested before. probably scared out of her life and he left her there. >> but jennie said she didn't seem upset after mcnair bailed her out of jail. >> she called me and said, you'll never believe what happened, i said, oh, no. she said, i got a dui. immediately i told her, you shouldn't drink and drive. you drive like a maniac. i went off on her. she said, yeah, yeah, but i was okay. >> and she was upset? >> she didn't appear. if she was upis he, she hid it. at 5:00 p.m. that same day, jennie met this man in the parkin lot of a daveus &ste br' &erouter' b where sheworked. adrian gillingham was on patrol.

a car dealer, he apparently talked to jennie about buying her old kia. police didn't buy the car but did sell jennie a handgun. a cheap .9 millimeter like this for 100. he's pleaded not guilty. >> i can't imagine her buying a gun. i can't imagine her knowing how to shoot a gun. >> on friday, july 3rd, police say jennie remarked to an associate, "my life is a ball of and i should just end it." they say jennie clocked out of work until 7:00 p.m. and went home. she was on her computer until about 11:00 p.m. she called emily's cell some time thatight but emily missed the call. >> she could have been calling me to tell me a stupid story about work or she could have been calling me to ask for help. because maybe she was in a

situation where she knew she couldn't control herself anymore. i'll never know. >> jennie's sister said she did speak to jennie that night. and while she seemed concerned about money she did not seem angry or upset. and yet, police say sometime after 11:00 jennie went to mcnair's apartment downtown. mcnair himself arrived between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. the man who drove him there later told police he saw the black escalade parked outside. 11 hours later wayne neally let himself inside. at first, he told police, he didn't see anything unusual. >> there's two people. >> two people? and they both appear to be deceased? >> i think so, sir. >> police found mcnair sprawled on the sofa shot twice in the

chest and once in the head. >> kazemi shot once in the head. and under kazemi's body, the gun she bought 48 hours earlier. >> mcnair has been drinking. his blood alcohol was twice the legal level for dui. >> kazemi had marijuana in her system. >> police announced the conclusion. >> that steve mcnair was murdered by sahel kazemi. in turn, sahel kazeem hi killed herself with a single gunot wound to her head. while we will never know what drove miss kazemi that drove to her, the totally points to a homicide. >> the longtime pastor said the circumstances of his death shouldn't tarnish his memory. >> he was a superior athlete, a

mode vart, an entrepreneur. a great father. two days later, air mcnai was laid to rest in his home soil, mt. olive, mississippi. ♪ it will never be good-bye >> but hanging over it all were some very difficult questions. what could have driven jennie kazemi to do it. what if he didn't do it at all? >> do you accept the final version of what happened? >> no. >> coming up, why this man says mcnair's young girlfriend may not have been the killer aer (announcer) it's that time of year again

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nashville police offered a simple explanation for what happened to steve mcnair. that sahel kazemi, afraid that mcnair was breaking up with her,

upset that he had left her in a patrol car, saddled with high payments on that escalade snapped. but people who are close to kazemi say, no way. >> it wasn't like steve mcnair won't be with me, no other guy will. she was very capable of moving on. >> you don't think she shot him? >> i don't think it's that simple. >> what else could it have been? >> i think there was just someone else involved. i don't think she was capable of doing this by herself. >> kazemi's family declined repeated requests for an enter rue but they told us off camera they were 100% convinced that she didn't kill mcnair or herself. apparently, this man convinced them. his name is vincent hill. he is a former nashville police officer. hill contacted kazemi's sister soon after the shootings. >> what did you basically tell her? >> at that conclusion that the polic were giving was more than

likely not what happened. >> hill says the way mcnair was shot, twice in the chest, once with each temple took too much skill and calculation for someone who apparently had never fired a gun before. >> that's more on the lines of execution than a troubled girlfriend. >> that doesn't make sense to you? doesn't make sense. >> as a layman, when i hear murder suicide, someone has been shot four times i'm thinking bang, bang, bang, bang, that what you would assume? >> typically, a crime of passion, bang, bang, bang, bang. would she kill herself? could be likely but females typically kill the person they're mad at. >> if they kill themselves do they typically use a gun? >> no. hill's doubts has gained attraction. he's been on tv and featured prominently on a website called examiner.com. hill is a patrol officer.

he's never worked a homicide scene. he said he left the department to spend him with his young daughter. but he also tangled with his superiorsn a car chase. >> were you at all concerned about sahel's family that the possibility that maybe you're wrong? >> oh, i could be wrong. i'll admit that, i could be wrong. >> maybe her family is vulnerable right now. are you worried about giving themselves false hope? >> i thought about that. i thought about in my heart, i don't believe she did it. evidence suggests otherwise as well. so i don't think i'm stringing them along. >> there may be no hard evidence that a third party committed the crime, but there are unusual details in this case. for example, the man who co-rented the apartment with mcnair, wayne neilly, told police that when he first entered the apartment at 1:00 p.m. on july 4th, he didn't

realize that a shooting occurred. reporter sara dorsey who walked through the apartment after the murder doubts neilly's story. >> i don't understand how he could have missed it. it was 1:00 in the afternoon, even with the blinds pulled which they were pulled there the day i was there. there was still plenty of light in the apartment. with the amount of blood that i was able to see, it's hard for me to see how he wouldn't immediately notice there were two bodies there. >> then, instead of calling 911, neilley called another friend. big daddy gaddy. gaddy drove to the apartment. came to the apartment and sur rayed the scene. >> oh, my god. >> what's going on? >> it's not looking good. >> both men declined our requests for interviews. police say they believe neilly and gaddy's accounts of that day. >> has there be a process of trying to play this out and

figure this out? >> why, what's it going to solve? you know, it doesn't bring him back. it doesn't bring her back. it doesn't change the circumstances. >> those two are still dead? >> those two are still dead. >> mechelle has been largely silent since her husband's death. but eddie george has spoken with her. >> i think she really at this point is trying to wrap her mind around the concept of her husband's passing. how she's going to deal with her ns. how does she move on in her life, how does she make sense out of it all. >> she's got angry. >> anger. >> grief. >> grief. humiliation. >> humiliation, all wrapped in one. >> when news of steve mcnair's murder surfaced, do you think it forced a lot of conversations between husbands and wives? especially athletes. >> absolutely. we're here. we're going to talk about it.

absolutely. i'm pretty se it happened in everybody's house, everybody's wife is looking at their husband who is an athlete like this. >> should they be? >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. this is everyday life it happens. >> because i would think a lot of guys are saying there but for the grace of god go i? >> absolutely. though steve mcnair is estimated to have made tens of millions of dollars in his lifetime, he apparently did not leave a will his estate may take years to settle. but the latest developments in the story, logon to our website, the address is dateline.msnbc.com. that's all for this edition of "dateline monday." i'm lester holt for all of us