Authorities have dominated the mysterious deaths of dual 19-year-old brothers discovered fatally shot on a Georgia mountain a double suicide.
The our bodies of Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis from Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta, have been found on March 8 round 90 miles away in Hiawassee, on the summit of Bell Mountain, near the North Carolina border.
The teenagers had deliberate to fly to Boston to go to their pals on the morning of March 7, however 24 hours later, they have been discovered useless in a distant a part of the state they’d by no means visited earlier than, their household mentioned.
Each deaths have now been declared suicides, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) introduced in an announcement 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 assertion learn.
Mobile location information from the pair’s telephones established their actions from their dwelling to Bell Mountain, the GBI mentioned.
“In the video that corresponds to those locations, the Lewis brothers are seen alone,” the assertion reads.
Solely Naazir was seen touring to the airport on March 7, however he by no means caught his flight and returned dwelling, the GBI mentioned. Qaadir didn’t have an airline ticket.
The ammunition used within the gun that fired the deadly pictures was bought by Naazir and arrived at his dwelling on March 5, based on data seen by the GBI. Although the company didn’t specify how they obtained the weapon.
Each brothers searched on their telephones for learn how to load a gun, suicide charges in 2024 and different chilling associated searches, based on web historical past retrieved by the GBI.
The brothers concurrently fired the deadly pictures, based on forensic proof, and the accidents have been self-inflicted, the GBI mentioned following its investigation.
The investigation into their deaths is about to be formally closed within the coming weeks.
A Hiawassee volunteer firefighter, Scott Kerlin, 42, has been formally charged with misdemeanor obstruction after allegedly taking pictures of the twins’ dying scene and sharing them publicly, the GBI mentioned.
Investigators initially thought that the twins’ deaths may very well be a murder-suicide, though this concept was fiercely rejected by their household.
The household launched a GoFundMe to rent a personal investigator to look at the case, after they dismissed the idea that the pair took their very 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 web page.
“Something happened at Bell Mountain,” she added.
The household earlier referred to as for additional investigation as to how they ended up in such a distant space.
“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, informed 11Alive Information.
The household didn’t reply instantly to requests for remark.
If you’re scuffling with suicidal ideas or are experiencing a psychological well being disaster and dwell in New York Metropolis, you’ll be able to name 1-888-NYC-WELL without spending a dime and confidential disaster counseling. If you happen to dwell outdoors the 5 boroughs, you’ll be able to dial the 24/7 Nationwide Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
