Family Seeks Answers After 2 Brothers Found Dead On GA Mountain

HIAWASSEE, GA — The family of twin brothers from Lawrenceville who were found dead last week atop Bell Mountain is rejecting claims their deaths were an apparent murder-suicide.

The family of Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis, both 19, told 11Alive the twin hikers were supposed to be in Boston at the time, but missed their flight.

“We want answers," the brothers' aunt, Samira Brawner, told the media outlet. "We want to know exactly what happened to the twins."

The Lewises were found dead with gunshot wounds around 11 a.m., March 8, on top of the Hiawassee, Towns County mountain, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time.

Authorities did not release full details but said a preliminary probe indicated the deaths of the Lewis brothers were an apparent murder-suicide.

As of Sunday, the GBI said the autopsies had been completed but that an official ruling on the cause of their deaths was pending more forensic tests.

RELATED: Twins Fatally Shot Atop GA Mountain In Apparent Murder-Suicide: GBI

"My nephews wouldn’t do this," Samira Brawner wrote on a GoFund Me site started for the brothers. "They came from a family of love, and (the) twins wanted so much for their future, they had dreams of starting their very own clothing line. "

The Lewis brothers, who had plane tickets on their bodies when they were found on the mountain, were not known to have conflict, their family told 11Alive.

“They’re very protective of each other," uncle Rahim Brawner told the news outlet. "They love each other. They’re like inseparable. I couldn’t imagine them hurting each other because I’ve never seen them get into a fistfight before.”

The family believes the Lewises had never heard of Bell Mountain and are curious as to how they got on the mountain, 11Alive reported.

“They had a huge support system," aunt Yasmine Brawner said in the report. "We know them. They wouldn’t do anything like this. To say they did this to each other? No. Something happened in those mountains, and we want answers.”

The GBI has released limited details on the case.

A GoFundMe established for the twin brothers had surpassed its $20,000 goal as of Monday morning. The more than $23,000 will benefit their funeral, according to organizers.