LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — 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 without bond Thursday 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. His first court appearance was scheduled for Friday.
“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.”
