A volunteer firefighter in Towns County has been arrested for sharing sensitive information involving the deaths of two twin brothers who were found on Bell Mountain earlier this month, according to GBI.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested and charged Scott Kerlin, 42, of Hiawassee, with misdemeanor obstruction.
Kerlin, a volunteer firefighter in Towns County, is accused of taking photos at the crime scene where Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis were found and sharing them publicly.
Authorities have not disclosed how the images were distributed but confirmed that an investigation led to Kerlin’s arrest.
The case remains under investigation.
Authorities have said they’re closer to determining an official cause of death for the two twin brothers who were found dead on Bell Mountain in Towns County earlier this month, though the family has rejected their findings.
According to the GBI, a medical examiner has completed the autopsies, though an official ruling and results are “pending additional forensic tests.”
For now, family members of the brothers are disputing the preliminary determinations made by authorities, stating the factors just don’t add up.
The bodies of 19-year-old twins Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis, both of Lawrenceville, were discovered by hikers on the morning of Saturday, March 8 at the top of the mountain, according to GBI.
Both men were found with gunshot wounds, the GBI said, and while autopsies are still pending, investigators said the preliminary investigation suggests the deaths were a murder-suicide.
“It is very odd to us,” Rahim Brawner, an uncle to the brothers, told Now Habersham Monday, March 17. “We absolutely do not believe what they’re saying – that it was a murder-suicide with two twin brothers who are always together. It’s just unbelievable. That’s just something they would not do. (Authorities) were so quick to say it was a murder-suicide – the same day it happened – without a thorough investigation or anything like that. This needs to be investigated thoroughly.”
The brothers were scheduled to fly out to Boston to see family on Friday, March 7, though they were found dead at the top of Bell Mountain on Saturday, March 8, according to GBI.
“They never mentioned anything about going to North Georgia,” Brawner said. “I couldn’t even imagine why they’d even be up there…they were supposed to fly out to Boston Friday morning, so a lot of this stuff doesn’t make sense.
According to Brawner, the last person to see the brothers together was their step-mother, who he said is just as distraught as the rest of the family. Now, Brawner and other family members are demanding answers.
The Towns County 911 Center received the call about the brothers around 11:05 a.m. on March 8. Soon after, the GBI was called in to assist the Towns County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.
Bell Mountain, a popular tourist site near the Georgia-North Carolina border, overlooks the town of Hiawassee and Lake Chatuge.
