Aug. 1, 2025, update:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A 28-year-old teacher who authorities say admitted to fatally stabbing two hikers he didn’t know in an Arkansas state park bounced between four school districts in three states in recent years.
Andrew James McGann was placed on administrative leave at an elementary school in the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound, Texas, in spring 2023 after concerns were raised about his classroom management. But he passed background checks in two different Oklahoma school districts and had been expected to start a new job in northwest Arkansas on Aug. 11, 2025.
McGann has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the killing Saturday of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41. He made his first appearance on Friday before an Arkansas judge, who ordered McGann to be held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center, assigned him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 25, 2025.
Police say motive unknown
Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said Thursday that authorities are trying to determine a motive for the attack at Devil’s Den, a 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) state park about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. Its trails have been closed to the public since Saturday.
State Police arrested McGann on Wednesday at a barbershop in Springdale, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the park, said Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the department’s criminal investigation division.
Adriana Ruiz, a stylist at Lupita’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop, told Fort Smith television station KFSM that McGann kept his head down, refused to sign in and wanted to keep his hair long to cover his face.
“I was about five minutes into the haircut when a man pulled up and was asking about whose car that was outside,” she told the station.
Moments later, she said police swarmed the salon and arrested McGann.
The Associated Press left messages at numbers listed for McGann, who has no criminal record.
Officials said the husband was stabbed first, about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) into the park, then the mother ushered her daughters to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death.
Authorities have not said if the girls — ages 7 and 9 — witnessed both their parents being killed. They were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities said. A third daughter was not hiking with her family when the Brinks were killed.
McGann was cooperative during his arrest and admitted to killing the couple soon after, Rhoads said. Police also matched his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. Rhoads described the killings as random.
Suspect’s teaching history
McGann, who graduated in spring 2022 from Oklahoma State University-Tulsa with a bachelor’s of science in elementary education, has active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to each respective government certification website. No infractions or suspensions are noted on his public state licensures in any of those states. The Associated Press has reached out to all three state education agencies.
McGann was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 while he was employed at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, “following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,” according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District.
Sierra Marcum, whose son was in McGann’s fourth grade class, said the teacher came across as “pretty cold” and “disinterested in his students.” Marcum said her son came home from school upset about some of McGann’s behavior, which she reported to the school’s principal.
McGann resigned from the Lewisville posting in May 2023, the district said in a statement.
The following school year he taught fifth grade at an elementary school in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow before leaving to take another job at a separate Tulsa-area district, Sand Springs, from the summer of 2024 until May of this year. Officials with both Oklahoma districts said McGann passed all background checks.
“There were no disciplinary actions taken against him during his time at Broken Arrow Public Schools, and nothing in his background or reference checks gave cause for concern during the interview process,” Broken Arrow Public Schools spokesperson Tara Thompson wrote in an email to the AP.
Kyle Swanson’s son was in McGann’s fifth grade class in Oklahoma in 2023 and said he remembers him being “reserved” and “not super friendly.”
The first day they met, he was “just off-putting,” Swanson said. “He wouldn’t look at me really, wouldn’t talk to me. He would only really talk to the kids and he would just walk away. I don’t know, it was a strange interaction.”
Spokespeople from both Oklahoma districts said police have not reached out regarding the investigation.
McGann had not yet started his new job in Arkansas at Springdale Public Schools, said Jared Cleveland, the district superintendent. He said the district could not provide more information, citing the investigation.
Police flooded with tips
McGann was arrested after a five-day search and hundreds of tips.
The State Police collected photos and videos from other hikers who had been on the trails but didn’t witness the attack. Police also released a composite sketch and a photo that showed a person of interest from behind.
The police then narrowed down the suspect’s vehicle, which had tape over the license plate, using surveillance footage from homes and businesses near Devil’s Den.
Within an hour of identifying McGann as a suspect, police captured him at the barber shop.
Washington County prosecutor Brandon Carter indicated the jury would have the option to sentence McGann to the death penalty.
The victims had just arrived in Arkansas
The Brinks and their three daughters had recently moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas.
Clinton Brink was supposed to start working as a milk delivery driver on Monday, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.
The Brink family has said the couple died “heroes protecting their little girls.”
Aug. 1, 2025:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A teacher who authorities say admitted to fatally stabbing a couple he didn’t know who were hiking with two of their children in an Arkansas state park is expected to have his first court appearance. Andrew James McGann has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the killing Saturday of 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink. He is being held without bond and is expected to appear Friday morning (Aug. 1, 2025) at the Washington County Detention Center. The Associated Press has left messages at numbers listed for McGann. It is unclear if he has a lawyer.
Story
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A teacher who authorities say admitted to fatally stabbing a couple he didn’t know who were hiking with two of their children in an Arkansas state park is expected to have his first court appearance Friday (Aug. 1, 2025).
Andrew James McGann, 28, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the killing Saturday of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41. He is being held without bond and is expected to appear at the Washington County Detention Center.
Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said authorities are trying to determine a motive for the attack at Devil’s Den, a 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) state park near West Fork, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, the state capital. Its trails have been closed to the public since Saturday.
State Police arrested McGann on Wednesday at a barbershop in Springdale, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the park, said Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the department’s criminal investigation division.
Washington County prosecutor Brandon Carter said he did not know if McGann has a lawyer or will need a public defender. The Associated Press has left messages at numbers listed for McGann, who has no criminal record.
Officials said the husband was stabbed first, about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) into the park, then the mother ushered her children to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death.
Authorities have not said if the girls — ages 7 and 9 — witnessed both their parents being killed. They were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities said.
McGann was cooperative during the arrest and admitted to killing the couple soon after, Rhoads said. Police also matched his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. The case is distressing even to the police.
“In my 27 years that I’ve been with the State Police, this is probably one of the most heinous that we’ve had, especially the aspect of just how random it was,” Rhoads said.
Police flooded with tips
McGann was arrested after a five-day search and hundreds of tips.
The State Police collected photos and videos from other hikers who didn’t witness the attack but were on the trails at around the same time. Police also released a composite sketch and a photo that showed a person of interest from behind.
The police then narrowed down the suspect’s vehicle, which had tape over the license plate, using surveillance footage from homes and businesses near Devil’s Den.
Within an hour of McGann being identified as a suspect, he was caught at the barber shop.
Carter indicated the state would give a jury the option to sentence McGann to the death penalty.
Suspect taught in other states before Arkansas job
McGann has active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to each respective government certification website. No infractions or suspensions are noted on his public state licensures in any of those states. The Associated Press has reached out to all three state education agencies.
McGann was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 while he was employed at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, “following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,” according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District.
Sierra Marcum, whose son was in McGann’s fourth grade class, said the teacher came across as “pretty cold” and “disinterested in his students.” Marcum said her son had come home from school upset about some of McGann’s behavior, which she reported to the school’s principal.
McGann resigned from the Lewisville posting in May 2023, the district said in a statement.
He also taught at a small Oklahoma school district from the summer of 2024 until May this year. He resigned to take a job in another state, according to a statement from Sand Springs Public Schools, near Tulsa. The district said McGann passed all background checks.
Law enforcement hasn’t contacted Sand Springs Public Schools regarding the investigation, district spokesperson Lissa Chidester said.
McGann had not yet started his new job in Arkansas at Springdale Public Schools, said Jared Cleveland, the district superintendent. He said the district could not provide more information, citing the investigation.
The victims had just arrived in Arkansas
The Brinks and their three daughters had recently moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas.
Clinton Brink was supposed to start working as a milk delivery driver on Monday, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.
The Brink family said the couple died “heroes protecting their little girls.”
July 31, 2025:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas police charged a 28-year-old schoolteacher in the killing of a married couple who were hiking with their children at Devil’s Den State Park, finding him in a nearby city after a five-day search and public pleas for trailgoers to look through their photos.
State Police arrested Andrew James McGann at a barbershop in Springdale, said Col. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the department’s criminal investigation division. He was charged with two counts of capital murder and was being held Thursday (July 31, 2025) in the state’s Washington County jail.
Police announced the arrest at a Wednesday night news conference but would not discuss a motive. McGann had been hired at Springdale Public Schools as a teacher candidate for the upcoming year but had not yet come into contact with any of its families or students, the district said in a statement.
A lawyer couldn’t be located for McGann, and a message was left for a number listed for him. It was not immediately clear when his first court appearance was.
“If you commit a violent, senseless act here in our state, our law enforcement will hunt you down and bring you to justice, because that’s what the people of Arkansas frankly deserve,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
Springdale is roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of the state’s remote Devil’s Den park, where trails have remained closed since Saturday’s killings.
Police flooded with tips
Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead on a walking trail at Devil’s Den. Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities have said.
The State Police have released few details about the investigation, including how the couple was killed. In the days after the attack, police released a composite sketch and then a photo of a person of interest that showed them only from behind. Authorities urged trailgoers who had been at the park to check their camera rolls for photos or video that might help point to a suspect.
Rhoads said the public’s help and video footage they received was instrumental in capturing McGann. Tips came in from as far away as Washington state, she said.
“It was overwhelming,” she said.
Suspect taught in Oklahoma before Arkansas job
McGann was a teacher at a small Oklahoma school district until May and then resigned to take a job in another state, according to a statement from Sand Springs Public Schools, which is near Tulsa. It added that McGann had passed all background checks.
McGann had not yet started his new job in Arkansas at Springdale Public Schools, said Jared Cleveland, the district superintendent. He said the district could not provide more information, citing the investigation.
“Our entire team extends our deepest condolences to the Brink family. Their children are especially in our thoughts and prayers,” Cleveland said.
Sierra Marcum said three years ago, her son was a student in McGann’s fourth grade classroom in Flower Mound, Texas, and described him as the “most standoff teacher she had ever met.” Her son’s yearbook includes a photo of McGann.
“Pretty cold. You could ask him a question and he would give you a one word response,” she said. “Overall just pretty disinterested in his students.”
Victims had recently moved before hike
Clinton and Cristen Brink had just moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas. Their water had been connected less than two weeks ago, Mayor David Faulk said.
Clinton Brink had been scheduled to start a job as a milk delivery driver Monday in the nearby Fayetteville area, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.
The Brink family said the couple died “heroes protecting their little girls.”
“Our entire state is grieving for the tragic loss and senseless and horrific crime that’s taken place in this area,” Sanders said.
Devil’s Den is a 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) state park near West Fork, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, the state capital.
The park is known for its hiking trails and rock formations, and it is a short drive from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Walmart’s Bentonville headquarters.
It was selected as a state park site in the 1930s and the park’s trails lead to the surrounding Ozark National Forest.
July 29, 2025:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas police say the killer of a married couple who had been hiking the remote Devil’s Den State Park with their young daughters was likely injured during the weekend attack. Arkansas State Police late Monday night (July 28, 2025) also released a sketch drawing of a man wanted for questioning. Authorites have not provided a possible motive or elaborated on how 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink were killed. Authorities say rheir daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members.
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