Georgia state officials rule death of twins on Bell Mountain a suicide, despite family's belief of foul play
After twin brothers were found dead on Bell Mountain, the family contests the state's claim of suicide: 'I know that something happened to them.'
Two months after news surfaced of the twin brothers found deceased on Bell Mountain, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) concluded its investigation into the cause of their deaths. On March 8, GBI responded to a 911 call about two people who were found dead at the top of Bell Mountain.
At the time, the state's investigation bureau reported that 19-year-old twin brothers Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis were both found with gunshot wounds. GBI's preliminary investigation suggested that the Lewis twins died by murder-suicide. However, the family suspected otherwise as the twins were found 90 miles from their home in Lawrenceville.
'They had no reason to take their own lives,' said Samira Brawner, the twins' aunt, previously in an interview, per Fox 5. 'I know that something happened to them. I know that they were murdered.'
Describing the young men as happy, fun, and family-oriented, Brawner said GBI's initial ruling 'doesn't make any sense.' In a GoFundMe campaign, Qaadir and Naazir's aunts Sabriya, Yasmine, and Samira Brawner released statements in April as they awaited the final verdict from GBI's in-depth investigation.
'As we are still waiting for the investigation to complete private [sic] and GBI, we are hoping for the truth and substantial evidence of what happened to the twins. We do know one thing for sure that they would not harm themselves and would not harm each other so we demand a thorough investigation and those involved to be prosecuted.' an April 3rd statement read.
On April 10th, after the autopsy was reportedly completed, the family wrote: 'We are still waiting on [the] toxicology report that can take several weeks and GBI still investigating and gathering forensics. We are not going to sweep this case up under the rug, we want to know the truth of what happened to Qaadir and Naazir so this family can have closure.'
On May 21, GBI announced the conclusion of its in-depth investigation into the twins' deaths. Based on their findings and a medical examiner's autopsy, Qaadir and Naazir's deaths were ruled a suicide. In a press release, GBI outlined the investigative findings that led to this conclusion:
Cellular location data has established a timeline of their location from their home in Gwinnett County to Bell Mountain. In the video that corresponds to those locations, the Lewis brothers are seen alone.
Only one brother (Naazir) went to the airport on March 7, 2025. He never caught the flight and returned home. Records show Naazir is the only person that had an airline ticket.
Records show Naazir purchased the ammunition used in the gun. The ammunition was delivered to his home on March 5, 2025.
Internet history from their phones showed searches for how to load a gun, suicide rates in 2024, and other related searches.
Forensic evidence showed that the Lewis brothers fired a gun.
GBI reportedly met with the twins' family before releasing the news, but the family has yet to release a statement in light of the investigation's conclusion.
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