Autopsies of Twin Brothers Found Shot in Georgia Mountains Complete, But Still No Ruling on Causes of Death

Two Georgia twin brothers were found deceased with gunshot wounds on a mountain, but authorities have not yet released their official causes of death.

Hikers discovered the two bodies of Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis, both 19, on Bell Mountain just before noon on March 8, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Despite the completed autopsies, the medical examiner is declining to officially rule on both manner and cause of death for the teens “pending additional forensic tests,” the GBI announced in a statement.

Deputies with the Towns County Sheriff’s Office were the first to arrive on the scene on March 8 and found that both teens had suffered gunshot wounds, according to a GBI news release.

Those deputies then alerted the GBI, and based on a preliminary investigation, the two agencies said they believed the deaths resulted from a murder-suicide. (The official ruling will be made by the medical examiner.)

Family members, however, are disputing the assertion from authorities about a murder-suicide.

“My nephews wouldn’t do this! They came from a family of love, and twins wanted so much for their future, they had dreams of starting their very own clothing line,” the brothers’ aunt Yasmine Brawner said after launching a GoFundMe to raise money for their funerals.

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Brawner also said that the two teens had no connection to Bell Mountain, which is located 90 miles north of their home in Lawrenceville, and had been planning to fly to Boston on the weekend that they disappeared in a series of posts shared on Facebook.

The older sister of the two brothers is also rejecting the initial assertion from authorities about their deaths.

“They were a bright light on some of my darkest days and were some of my biggest supporters,” wrote Kairee Powell on Facebook.

She and other family members have now created the hashtag “#JusticeForQaadirAndNaazir” to raise awareness.

“Unfortunately Something happened at Bell mountain that ended the lives of 19 year old Qaadir and Naazir, which needs to be further investigated,” Brawner said of the deaths.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.