Teacher admits to stabbing couple to death while they were hiking with their children in Arkansas, police say
A 28-year-old schoolteacher has admitted to killing a couple who were hiking with their two young daughters at a state park in Arkansas, authorities said Thursday.
State Police arrested Andrew James McGann after a five-day manhunt and a flood of tips. He was found in Springdale, a city about a 40-minute drive from Devil’s Den State Park, according to police.
Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead on Saturday on a walking trail at Devil’s Den after what police are calling a “completely random” attack. Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities have said.
Arkansas State Police Colonel Mike Hagar said authorities are trying to determine a motive for the stabbing attack. During an interview with police, McGann admitted to killing the couple, Hagar said.
DNA matching McGann’s was found at the scene of the crime, Hager said, and a search of his residence allegedly turned up items “consistent with being involved in this particular crime.”
Here’s what to know about the case:
The Brinks 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.
Officials said Clinton Brink was stabbed first. Cristen Brink ushered her children to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death. Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed their parents being killed.
The Brink family said the couple died as “heroes protecting their little girls.”
Hagar said he was “in awe” of the couple’s children, noting that — despite their unspeakable loss — they’ve been assisting police with the investigation into their parents’ murders.
“The information that they were able to provide to start us down this path, to be able to make this arrest, it all started with those two little girls,” he said. “It’s incredible.”
According to Hagar, the Brinks have a third daughter who was not on the trail the day of the attack.
McGann was charged with two counts of capital murder and was being held without bond Thursday.
