Qaadir Lewis and Naazir Lewis (GoFundMe).
A Georgia firefighter is out of a job after he allegedly shared crime scene photos connected to the case of twins who were found shot dead.
In a statement posted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on March 18, Special Agent in Charge Kim Williams announced that a volunteer firefighter, 42-year-old Scott Kerlin, was arrested and charged with obstruction. Williams said that Kerlin took photos of the crime scene where 19-year-old twins Qaadir Lewis and Naazir Lewis were found dead of gunshot wounds on March 8 and “shared them publicly.” Local NBC outlet WXIA reported that Kerlin was fired from the fire department on March 14 for violating protocol.
Williams also noted that Kerlin took the photos himself. Kerlin was part of the emergency response team at the location on the top of Bell Mountain on March 8, according to local CBS affiliate WANF.
WXIA confirmed with the Towns County Jail that Kerlin bonded out. He was charged with misdemeanor obstruction. The charge is not related to the investigation into the death of the Lewis twins.
Qaadir Lewis and Naazir Lewis were found dead of gunshot wounds by hikers. A preliminary investigation ruled that their deaths were a case of murder-suicide, however, their family disputed that conclusion on a GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral costs. The GBI said in a previous statement that the investigation was still “active and ongoing,” and autopsies on the two boys were complete. They added that the official ruling by the medical examiner was still pending as they waited on more forensic testing.
WXIA spoke to family members of the boys, who said the pair were “inseparable.” Their uncle, Rahim Brahmer, told the outlet, “I couldn’t imagine them hurting each other because I’ve never seen them get into a fistfight before.” Other family members shared with WXIA that the two boys were planning to fly to Boston, Massachusetts, at 7 a.m. the day before they were found. WXIA reported that their plane tickets were found in their wallets, which were located near the scene on Bell Mountain.
Brahmer told WXIA, “How did they end up out in the mountains? They don’t hike out there, they’ve never been out there. They don’t know anything about Hiawassee, Georgia. They never even heard of Bell Mountain, so how did they end up right there?”
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