Qaadir and Naazir Lewis, who were found dead at the top of a Georgia mountain on March 8, both died by suicide, authorities announced this week
Initially, officials said that the evidence suggested their deaths were a “murder suicide”
The family continues to have many questions in the wake of their deaths
Officials have concluded their investigation into the deaths of 19-year-old twins Qaadir and Naazir Lewis, who were found dead at the top of a Georgia mountain – and announced a shift from their preliminary findings when it came to their manner of death.
On Wednesday, May 21, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced that they’d ruled that both young men died by suicide, a change from the agency’s initial findings on March 9, in which they classified their deaths as a “murder suicide” based on preliminary evidence.
“The comprehensive investigation indicates the injuries causing their deaths were self-inflicted,” the agency said. The GBI said no further information will be released when contacted by PEOPLE. The GBI Medical Examiner’s Office and Towns County Sheriff’s Office directed PEOPLE to the GBI press release.
Since Qaadir and Naazir’s bodies were found by hikers at the top of Bell Mountain in Hiawassee, Ga., on March 8, family members said they didn’t believe that the young men —who had planned on a taking a birthday cruise in April and dreamed of being entrepreneurs — would hurt themselves or each other, CNN reported.
“My nephews wouldn’t do this!” the twins’ aunt, Yasmine Brawner, wrote in a GoFundMe page she organized in hopes of hiring an investigator to help with the case. (Brawner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.)
“[They] wanted so much for their future, they had dreams of starting their very own clothing line,” she added.
On March 7, the day before the siblings were found dead, Naazir was scheduled to fly to Boston to see friends, according to CNN. Officials said that he went to the airport but never boarded the plane. Instead, he returned to his home in Lawrenceville, an Atlanta suburb.
What prompted Naazir and Qaadir to travel from their hometown to Hiawassee, almost 90 miles away, is unclear. But cellular location data helped investigators establish a timeline from the siblings’ home to Bell Mountain. Surveillance footage also emerged, which showed the twins entering a Shell Gas station in Lawrenceville, Ga., about 12 hours before they were discovered dead.
Other evidence that led to their official finding includes records that show “Naazir purchased ammunition used in the gun,” according to the GBI. The ammunition was delivered to Naazir’s house two days before his final trip with his brother.
Additionally, internet history from their phones “showed searches for how to load a gun, suicide rates in 2024, and other related searches.”
For the brothers’ family, there are still unending questions – and pain.
“For a lot of our family, it’s too much,” a family member told CNN. “They are extremely traumatized.”
The twins’ older sister, Kai’ree Powell, remembered her last day with them. On March 6, the three siblings watched a sitcom at her home in Atlanta and talked about life.
“They asked me … ‘If you didn’t have any anxiety and fears, what would you do?’ And I told them that I would want to dance because I’ve always wanted to be a dancer,” Powell told CNN. “And they said, ‘You should do that. I really hope that you do that.’ ”
“That was the last thing they said to me,” she added.