A firefighter has been charged after he allegedly took and shared images of two dead twin brothers on a mountain.
The case revolves around the tragic deaths of 19-year-old twin brothers Qaadir and Naazir Lewis, who were found dead in what authorities suspect was a murder-suicide on a remote mountain near the Georgia-North Carolina border.
Scott Kerlin, 42, a volunteer firefighter in Towns County, Georgia, has been accused of interfering in the investigation into the March 8 deaths of the Lewis brothers.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Kerlin allegedly took photos of the death scene and shared them with the public, violating department protocol.
Following the shocking allegations, Kerlin was fired from his position and charged with misdemeanor obstruction, according to a Towns County spokesperson.
He was later released on bond.
The Lewis twins, originally from Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta, were supposed to be on a trip to Boston to visit friends. However, concern arose when they missed their 7:00AM flight from Atlanta on March 7.
A hiker discovered their bodies the following morning, around 11AM on March 8, in a remote mountainous area near the North Carolina border, roughly 117 miles northeast of the airport.
Investigators have ruled their deaths as a suspected murder-suicide, though they have not revealed who the shooter was.
Authorities found the twins' plane tickets in their wallets, confirming they never made it to Boston.
The official cause of death remains under investigation, as the medical examiner is still awaiting additional forensic test results.
While law enforcement leans toward murder-suicide, the Lewis family is struggling to accept that possibility, describing the twins as inseparable and peaceful.
"We’re just trying to figure out what happened. We’re trying to put pieces together to understand. How did they end up in the mountains? They don’t hike out there. They have never been out there," said their aunt, Samira Brawner, in an interview with WSBTV.
Their uncle, Rahim Brawner, echoed the disbelief, stating he had never known the brothers to be violent toward each other.
"I can’t imagine them hurting each other because I’ve never even seen them get into a fistfight before," he said.
"Murder-suicide? I just believe that they were extremely incapable of that."
As authorities continue to investigate the brothers' deaths, the Lewis family remains desperate for answers.
Meanwhile, Scott Kerlin’s actions have raised concerns over privacy violations and ethical misconduct, with law enforcement not releasing any additional details about the leaked photos.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in order to raise funds for the Lewis family during this difficult time.