Teacher charged in Arkansas’ Devil’s Den double murder grew up in Chicago

CHICAGO (WGN) — Authorities in Arkansas have charged a man for the murders of a mother and father who were out hiking with their daughters on a popular local trail. The catch? The alleged murderer has ties to the Southwest Side of Chicago.

Anthony Morales, a Chicagoan who lives near West 55th Street and South Austin Avenue in the city’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood, said he remembers a family that lived nearby who had a son. Two years ago, their son stopped by to see his property.

That family’s son was 28-year-old Andrew James McGann, who is accused of committing a fatal double stabbing at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas, according to Morales.

“He came with his girlfriend, just to show it off,” Morales said. “She was impressed because he used to live here, but like I said, I never let him inside the house.”

Arkansas State Police (ASP) said they arrested McGann at a barbershop in Springdale on the far northwest side of the state. He is charged with two counts of capital murder after being accused of fatally stabbing 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and his wife, 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, while the two were hiking with two of their three daughters at Devil’s Den State Park.

“He did indicate that he committed the murders,” ASP Maj. Stacie Rhoads said during a news conference Thursday. When asked to elaborate, she said: “I would call it an admission.”

Law enforcement said Clinton Brink was stabbed first and Cristen Brink rushed their daughters, ages 7 and 9, to safety. When Cristen Brink returned to help her husband, she was then stabbed to death.

Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed their parents’ murders.

According to the Associated Press, McGann holds active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. However, public online archives in Illinois indicate that he was a student at Oak Park’s Fenwick High School, from which he graduated in 2015 before moving out of state.

Arkansas authorities said McGann has no discernible connection to the Brink family, and are actively working to determine a motive for the attack.

McGann is being held without bond.

*Reporting from the Associated Press contributed toward this article.