'Cover-Up': Family of twin brothers found dead question investigation conclusion that it was suicide

The family of twin brothers found dead on Bell Mountain is pushing back against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s conclusion that the deaths were suicides. On Friday, relatives of Qaadir and Naazir Lewis, alongside NAACP representatives and their state representative, held a news conference in Lawrenceville demanding a deeper review. The 19-year-old brothers, who lived in Lawrenceville, were discovered by a hiker earlier this year in Towns County.

According to the GBI, investigators examined cell phone data, surveillance video, internet history, and purchase records before determining that the injuries were self-inflicted. However, the Lewis family is challenging that finding, asserting there are unanswered questions surrounding the deaths. They are calling for an independent investigation and the release of all evidence in the case.

"This is not just our fight. It is a test of whether Black lives truly matter in this country. We will not rest until justice is served," the twins' uncles said at the news conference.

The NAACP has joined the family in labeling the deaths as a lynching and is supporting the call for a renewed investigation.

"So we stand here for the twins, demanding the same thing we demanded for Ahmaud Arbery and others — a thorough, complete, and full independent investigation — because we find it very hard to believe that individuals who resided in Gwinnett County would somehow end up in Towns County on a mountain they knew nothing about and commit suicide.

We've been here way too many times. In the 116 years that the NAACP has responded to lynchings, we know what a lynching looks like, we know what it smells like, and we know what a cover-up starts out like.

And so we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Gwinnett County NAACP and all the 100 branches of this association in Georgia in demanding that the GBI release all of the evidence. Now, let's be clear: I know the director knows the open records laws just like I do. If the investigation is closed, he has to release the file. So we are demanding that he release the file," attorney Gerald Griggs, president of Georgia NAACP, said.

Additionally, Rep. Gabe Okoye echoed the family's allegations of a cover-up.

"This investigation surely looks like a cover-up. … If you're going to cover something up, make it believable," Rep. Gabe Okoye said.

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