Teacher charged in Arkansas couple's murder held without bond
A teacher arrested in the murder of a married couple found stabbed to death on a trail in an Arkansas park was held without bond after a brief court appearance on Friday.
Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, Arkansas, was appointed a public defender and is set to return to court on Aug. 25 for his arraignment. He has not yet entered a plea, prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter said.
McGann is charged with two counts of capital murder in the killings of 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and his wife, 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, Arkansas State Police said. The Arkansas Public Defender Commission, which was appointed to represent him, has no comment at this time.
The Brinks were "fatally attacked" while out hiking with their two daughters at Devil's Den State Park on July 26, police said.
Following a dayslong manhunt for the suspect, McGann was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a barbershop in Springdale, about 30 miles north of the park, police said. Investigators were able to track him down based on a description of the suspect's vehicle, police said.
According to a newly released preliminary report from the prosecutor's office, a witness reported seeing a person who "emerged from the trail with what appeared to be blood on his face" and got into a black sedan.
Another witness reported the vehicle as a Kia Stinger, which was located at the barbershop in Springdale on Wednesday, according to the report. Investigators observed what appeared to be blood inside the vehicle, the report said.
Investigators had found a trail of blood believed to belong to the victim leading from the crime scene in the park, according to the prosecutor's report. DNA from blood recovered from the crime scene matched McGann's DNA, Hagar said.
The suspect had sustained cuts on his hands during a struggle with the victims, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. Investigators who spoke to McGann at the barbershop observed cuts on his hands, according to the prosecutor's report.
During an interview with police following his arrest, McGann admitted to killing the couple, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar said during a press briefing on Thursday. He "made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides," the prosecutor's report stated.
The report claimed the killings were planned and the suspect "waited with deliberated purpose and killed two hikers at the Devil's Den State Park."
Asked about a motive in the double homicide on Thursday, Hagar said it remains under investigation, though he did say it appeared to be a "completely random event."
The state will not be waiving the death penalty in the case, according to Carter.
McGann had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma and had been hired to work at a local school though he had not yet started, officials said. He had previously worked in school districts in Oklahoma and Texas.
In a statement, the Lewisville Independent School District, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, confirmed McGann was employed as a teacher at an elementary school there during the 2022-2023 school year.
The school system said McGann had been placed on administrative leave that spring "following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism." An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students, but McGann ultimately resigned from the school district that month.
The Brinks had recently moved to Prairie Grove from North Dakota, police said.
Their children, ages 7 and 9, were not harmed in the incident thanks to the actions of their mother, police said.
"We believe that the mother took them to safety, and then returned to help her husband," Maj. Stacie Rhoads with the Arkansas State Police said during Thursday's press briefing.
The couple has a third daughter who wasn't at the trail that day, Hagar said.
Their children are safe and in the custody of relatives, according to police.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter's corrected statement that McGann has not yet entered a plea.
