Authorities say they’re closer to determining an official cause of death for two twin brothers who were found dead on Bell Mountain in Towns County earlier this month, but the family has rejected their findings so far.
According to the GBI, a medical examiner has completed the autopsies, though an official ruling and results are “pending additional forensic tests.”
But 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. “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.
Brawner went on to say the brothers, both of whom attended technical school at two Gwinnett colleges, have never been to North Georgia – making Bell Mountain an unusual place for them to be found. Bell Mountain is nearly 90 miles away from Lawrenceville.
Brawner also said he has questions of whether there were surveillance cameras in the area of Bell Mountain to capture footage of the brothers, or if areas of the mountain were enclosed at the time the brothers were supposedly making their way up there.
“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.
“They’re actually more protective of each other,” Brawner said. “They’ve always been protective of each other, so this is highly unlikely.”
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.
