The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) charged a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter with sharing photos of Qaadir and Naazir Lewis’ dead bodies.
Scott Kerlin was charged with misdemeanor obstruction after taking photos of the twins’ “death scene” and sharing the images publicly, authorities said on Tuesday.
Hikers found the bodies of the 19-year-old twins on top of Bell Mountain, a scenic tourist attraction in rural Hiawassee, Georgia. The brothers were shot to death.
Their bodies were discovered on March 8 – a day after they were scheduled to fly to Boston to visit friends.
The twins’ plane tickets were found in their wallets. The GBI is investigating whether the brothers made it to the airport for their 7 a.m. flight on March 7.
“The preliminary investigation reveals the deaths to be a murder suicide,” the GBI said. Authorities noted that autopsies are completed and reports are still pending. “The death investigation is active & ongoing.”
A gun was found near the bodies, according to first responders. The gun was dusted for fingerprints.
The twins’ bodies were sent to the GBI lab where autopsies were conducted. Their hands were tested for gunshot residue, but the GBI won’t say which brother fired the gun.
In an interview with Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA, the brothers’ family rejected the GBI’s murder-suicide theory.
“We knew right away that wasn’t true,” the twins’ aunt, Samira Brawner, said.
She added, “We want answers, we want to know exactly what happened to the twins.”
The twins’ uncle, Rahim Brawner, said Qaadir and Naazir were “very protective of each other.”
“They love each other,” he said. “They’re like inseparable. I couldn’t imagine them hurting each other because I’ve never seen them get into a fistfight before.”
A GoFundMe page created by Brawner raised over $30,000 for funeral expenses.
