Authorities have ruled the mysterious deaths of twin 19-year-old brothers found fatally shot on a Georgia mountain a double suicide.
The bodies of Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis from Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta, were discovered on March 8 around 90 miles away in Hiawassee, at the summit of Bell Mountain, close to the North Carolina border.
The teens had planned to fly to Boston to visit their friends on the morning of March 7, but 24 hours later, they were found dead in a remote part of the state they had never visited before, their family said.
Both deaths have now been declared suicides, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced in a statement Wednesday.
“Based on the results of the medical examiner’s autopsy and other investigative findings, their deaths have been ruled suicide-suicide. GBI agents have met with the Lewis family to share the findings,” the statement read.
Cellular location data from the pair’s phones established their movements from their home to Bell Mountain, the GBI said.
“In the video that corresponds to those locations, the Lewis brothers are seen alone,” the statement reads.
Only Naazir was seen traveling to the airport on March 7, but he never caught his flight and returned home, the GBI said. Qaadir did not have an airline ticket.
The ammunition used in the gun that fired the fatal shots was purchased by Naazir and arrived at his home on March 5, according to records seen by the GBI. Though the agency didn’t specify how they obtained the weapon.
Both brothers searched on their phones for how to load a gun, suicide rates in 2024 and other chilling related searches, according to internet history retrieved by the GBI.
The brothers concurrently fired the fatal shots, according to forensic evidence, and the injuries were self-inflicted, the GBI said following its investigation.
The investigation into their deaths is set to be formally closed in the coming weeks.
A Hiawassee volunteer firefighter, Scott Kerlin, 42, has been formally charged with misdemeanor obstruction after allegedly taking photos of the twins’ death scene and sharing them publicly, the GBI said.
Investigators originally thought that the twins’ deaths could be a murder-suicide, although this theory was fiercely rejected by their family.
The family launched a GoFundMe to hire a private investigator to examine the case, after they dismissed the theory that the pair took their own lives.
“My nephews wouldn’t do this! They came from a family of love, and the twins wanted so much for their future; they had dreams of starting their very own clothing line,” the twins’ aunt, Yasmine Brawner, wrote on the fundraising page.
“Something happened at Bell Mountain,” she added.
The family earlier called for further investigation as to how they ended up in such a remote area.
“How did they end up out in the mountains? They don’t hike out there, they’ve never been out there. They don’t know anything about Hiawassee, Georgia. They never even heard of Bell Mountain, so how did they end up right there?” the boy’s uncle, Rahim Brawner, told 11Alive News.
The family did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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