A teacher is charged with killing a couple hiking with their kids in Arkansas. Here’s what to know

A 28-year-old schoolteacher who admitted killing a couple who were hiking with two of their children at a state park in Arkansas has been charged with murder.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead Saturday on a walking trail at Devil’s Den State Park. Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities have said.

State Police arrested Andrew James McGann after a five-day search and a flood of tips. He was captured in Springdale, a city about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Devil’s Den.

Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said authorities are trying to determine a motive for the attack.

Here’s what to know about the case:

Suspect faces Arkansas judge

McGann, who has been charged with two counts of capital murder, made his first appearance on Friday before an Arkansas judge, who ordered McGann to be held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center, assigned him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 25.

Washington County prosecutor Brandon Carter indicated the state would give a jury the option to sentence McGann to the death penalty.

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 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 then 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 both their parents being killed.

The Brink family said the couple died “heroes protecting their little girls.”

Suspect is a newly hired teacher

Springdale Public Schools in northwest Arkansas 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 licenses 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 favoritism,” according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District. He resigned from the school in May 2023.

The following school year he taught fifth grade at an elementary school in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow before leaving to take another job at a separate Tulsa-area district, Sand Springs, from the summer of 2024 until May of this year. Officials with both Oklahoma districts said McGann passed all background checks.

“There were no disciplinary actions taken against him during his time at Broken Arrow Public Schools, and nothing in his background or reference checks gave cause for concern during the interview process,” Broken Arrow Public Schools spokesperson Tara Thompson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Tips from the public

Police had urged those who were at the park on the same day to check their cameras for images that could help point to a suspect, and the public responded.

Their tips, photos and footage were instrumental in capturing McGann, police said.

Police also released a composite sketch and a photo of a person of interest that showed him only from behind.

Tips came in from as far away as Washington state, said Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the state police’s criminal investigation division.

“It was overwhelming,” she said.

A park known for trails and rock formations

Devil’s Den is a 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) state park near West Fork, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, the state capital.

The park is known for its hiking trails and rock formations, and it is a short drive from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Walmart’s Bentonville headquarters. It became a state park site in the 1930s.

The park’s trails, which lead to the surrounding Ozark National Forest, have been closed since the killings.

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This story has been corrected to show Stacie Rhoads, the commander of the state police’s criminal investigation division, is a major not a colonel.