Police have shared new details in the attack that left a married Arkansas couple dead, confirming the suspect admitted to stabbing the pair to death in what appears to be a “completely random” attack.
Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, Ark., is charged with two counts of capital murder in the killing Saturday of Clinton David Brink, 43, and his 41-year-old wife, Cristen Amanda Brink.
The couple’s two daughters, ages seven and nine, were hiking with their parents at the time, but were left physically unharmed.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the Arkansas State Police’s (ASP) criminal investigation division, said that McGann confessed to the attack following his Wednesday arrest.
This image provided by Washington County, Ark., Sheriff’s Office shows Andrew McGann.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office via AP
“He did indicate that he committed the murders,” Rhoads said. When asked to elaborate, she said: “I would call it an admission.”
Officials said the husband was stabbed first, approximately a kilometre into the park, then the mother ushered her children to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death.
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Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed their parents being killed.
State police arrested McGann at a barbershop in Springdale, about 50 kilometres north of the park. He was in the middle of getting a haircut. His processing photos show him still wearing a barber cape.
Andrew James McGann, 28, was arrested in connection with the deaths of married couple Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41.
Handout / Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Investigators were able to track him down based on a description of the suspect’s vehicle, police 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.
“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.
“We have no reason to believe that there was any known association between our suspects and our victims,” Col. Mike Hagar of ASP told reporters Thursday, adding there is no clear motive at this time. “There’s nothing to indicate that at all. It appears to be a completely random event. As for the weapon used, it was a knife. Our victims died by stab wounds.”
McGann sustained wounds leading to blood loss during the attack, with officers describing him as “very sloppy.”
During a search of the suspect’s home, “there were articles found there that are consistent with being involved in this particular crime,” Hagar said, but did not elaborate on what investigators found.
Cristen and Clinton Brink were found dead on July 26, 2025.
Facebook / Cristen Brink
Suspect is a newly hired teacher
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.
Springdale Public Schools said it had hired McGann for the upcoming year, but that he had not yet had contact with families or students.
He has active teaching licences with no infractions or suspensions in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to government certification websites.
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 favouritism,” according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District. He resigned from the school in May 2023.
McGann was also a teacher at a small Oklahoma school district starting in the summer of 2024 until May.
Family new to Arkansas
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 on 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.”
The couple have another daughter who was not with them on the trail.
— With files from The Associated Press
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