The GBI arrested Towns County Volunteer firefighter Scott Kerlin for allegedly sharing a crime scene photo of twin brothers Qaadir and Naazir Lewis.
TOWNS COUNTY, Ga. — A volunteer firefighter in Towns County has been arrested for allegedly taking and publicly sharing a crime scene photo of twin brothers found dead on Bell Mountain.
TheGeorgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed the arrest of 42-year-old Scott Kerlin, of Hiawassee, on Monday night.
On Tuesday, the agency announced Kerlin had been charged with misdemeanor obstruction.
The GBI said a hiker found the bodies of 19-year-old Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis on March 8. Both brothers had been shot.
Credit: Provided
Lewis brothers
RELATED: Firefighter's charges in connection to case of twins found dead on Georgia mountain are for taking pictures of death scene, GBI says
It's unclear how Kerlin is accused of sharing the picture of the crime scene. Towns County Schools Superintendent Darren Berrong confirmed in a statement sent to 11Alive that the picture was shared among students:
Towns County Schools was made aware that a crime scene photo had been shared with some of our students on Monday. In collaboration with local law enforcement, our administration promptly initiated an investigation and took appropriate measures to ensure the photo was no longer in the possession of any students. The students involved were unaware of the illegal nature of how the photo was distributed and were fully cooperative with the administration during the investigation. Due to FERPA regulations, we are unable to comment on specific student discipline matters.
"It's scary. I'm literally scared to go on social media. I'm scared to pick up my phone because I know if I see that picture, I already know I'll have a heart attack," Samira Brawner, the twins' aunt, said.
Yasmine Brawner, another aunt of the twins, said, "Just imagine if their mother sees that—like, that would really destroy her. She's already going through a lot."
Sabria Brawner, another aunt to the twins, condemned the violation of privacy. "It's very disrespectful to this family. I feel like our privacy was invaded."
The twins' uncle Rahim Brawner, who has been a first responder for more than 10 years, pointed out, "We know that's one of the number one rules is not to take pictures and share them."
The twins, who lived in Lawrenceville, were found on Bell Mountain—about 90 miles from their home.
The GBI initially suggested their deaths were a possible murder-suicide, but the family has strongly rejected that theory.
"It doesn’t make sense. That’s not them... absolutely out of character," the family insists.
The brothers had no known connection to Bell Mountain, and their family said they rarely traveled long distances, especially not to unfamiliar areas.
"They don't even like driving that kind of distance," Samira Brawner said. "Yeah, because they don’t like to pay for gas."
The family said the twins just got their licenses last year and shared a vehicle.
They said the fact that the twins missed a flight to see friends in Boston on Friday morning and are alleged to have driven nearly two hours to the state line doesn't add up.
RELATED: Twin brothers miss their flight to Boston, found dead 24 hours later in Georgia mountains
The family said the twins had been at their sister's house in Chamblee the night before, on March 6, watching movies before heading back to their home in Lawrenceville, where they lived with their stepmom and father.
The family said the twins were in good spirits and again, were expected to get on a plane the next morning.
The family said the twins' father can't speak after suffering a stroke. The family said they're still working to figure out when the twins were last seen leaving their home in Lawrenceville.
Their home is about two hours, from where their bodies were found in Hiawassee.
The family said their car was found parked at Bell Mountain on the morning of Saturday, March 8.
Towns County Attorney Robb Kiker Jr. said the area is remote, has a lot of wilderness, and is not staffed or supervised.
He said there are no utilities on site, no cameras or other monitoring devices.
As for a timeline of when the twins might have gotten to the mountain.
Kiker said the gate is open from approximately 8 a.m. until end of daylight. He added, when closed, the gate prevents any vehicle's from entering the parking lot.
The twins' family said until their bodies were found, they never head Bell Mountain.
They said the twins' phones, wallet and plane ticket were found inside their car. They said the twins' stepmom mentioned bags were found in the car but didn't elaborate on what was inside the bags.
11Alive reached out to the twins' stepmom on Tuesday evening, but our calls went unanswered.
When questioned if there was anything that the family could think of that would explain an alleged murder-suicide, they said it simply doesn't make sense.
"No. If they had a problem that severe, we would know. The family would know. Definitely."
The GBI said an autopsy has been completed, but final results are pending additional forensic testing and the investigation being conducted by GBI agents.
