WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ark.- A teacher was charged with killing a married couple who were found stabbed to death on a park trail in Arkansas. After a short court appearance on Friday, the teacher was released without bond.
Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, Arkansas, was given a public defender. He is due back in court on August 25 for his arraignment, according to KATV, an ABC affiliate in Little Rock. The prosecutor, Brandon Carter, said that he has not yet entered a plea.
The killings of Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, have been charged with two counts of capital murder by the Arkansas State Police. We tried to get in touch with his public defender but didn’t hear back right away.
Police say the Brinks were “fatally attacked” on July 26 while hiking with their two daughters in Devil’s Den State Park.
Police said McGann was caught Wednesday afternoon at a barbershop in Springdale, which is about 30 miles north of the park. They had been looking for him for days. Police said that they were able to find him thanks to a description of the suspect’s car.
A witness saw someone who “emerged from the trail with what appeared to be blood on his face” and got into a black sedan, according to a preliminary report from the prosecutor’s office that was just made public.
The report says that another witness said the car was a Kia Stinger, which was later found at the Springdale barbershop on Wednesday. The report said that investigators saw what looked like blood inside the car.
The prosecutor’s report said that investigators found a path of blood that they thought belonged to the victim that led from the crime scene in the park. Hagar said that DNA from blood found at the crime scene matched McGann’s DNA.
A police officer who is familiar with the investigation said that the suspect got cuts on his hands while fighting with the victims. The prosecutor’s report says that when investigators talked to McGann at the barbershop, they saw cuts on his hands.
Ark. State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar told the press on Thursday that McGann admitted to killing the couple in an interview with police after he was arrested. The prosecutor’s report said that he “made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides.”
The report said the killings were planned and that the suspect “watched with intent and killed two hikers at Devil’s Den State Park.”
When asked about the reason for the double murder on Thursday, Hagar said that it was still being looked into but that it seemed like a “completely random event.”
Brandon Carter, the prosecuting attorney for Washington County, said that the state will not drop the death penalty in this case.
Officials say McGann had just moved to the area from Oklahoma and had been hired to work at a nearby school, but he hadn’t started yet. He had worked in Oklahoma and Texas school districts before.
Police said the Brinks had just moved from North Dakota to Prairie Grove.
Police say that their 7- and 9-year-old children were not hurt in the incident because of what their mother did.
Arkansas State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads told the press on Thursday, “We believe that the mother took them to safety and then went back to help her husband.”
Hagar said that the couple has a third daughter who wasn’t at the trail that day.
Police say that their children are safe and with family members.
