Arkansas State Police arrested the suspect in Saturday’s double homicide in an Arkansas State Park on Wednesday evening.
The suspect, 29-year-old James Andrew McGann, is charged with two counts of Capital Murder after he fatally stabbed Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, while the two were hiking with their daughters at Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday. The couple’s daughters, ages 7 and 9, were unharmed and are safe with family members. (RELATED: Suspect In Murders Of Arkansas Hikers Was Potentially Injured During Attack, Police Say)
Police arrested McGann at 4:57 p.m. Wednesday at a beauty shop in Springdale, approximately 30 miles from the scene of the murder.
James Andrew McGann is charged with two counts of Capital Murder for the fatal stabbings of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41 in an Arkansas State Park. (Arkansas State Police)
Arkansas State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads said McGann recently moved from Oklahoma to Northwest Arkansas and recently secured a job at a local school. Rhoads said McGann had no connection to the Brinks family.
“No news can heal the enormous harm done to the Brink family in last weekend’s crime, but this announcement is a comfort and reassurance for our State,” Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “I am so proud of the Arkansas State Police, Park Rangers, local law enforcement, and others who have worked nonstop since last weekend to capture this suspect.”
Officials initially described the suspect as “an unknown white male with a medium build,” wearing “dark pants, a dark ball cap and sunglasses.” Police said the suspect was possibly driving a Mazda with the license plate obscured by electrical or duct tape, and they urged those who visited the park on Saturday to search their phones for potential photos or videos of the suspect.
Police released this initial sketch of the suspect on Monday. (Arkansas State Police)
On Monday, officials said the suspect was potentially injured in the attack, but they did not confirm that suspicion in Wednesday’s press release.
Rhoads said information from the public was “instrumental” in securing McGann’s arrest.
McGann is being held in the Washington County jail and is scheduled to appear in court August 1.