A 28-year-old schoolteacher has been charged with killing a couple who were hiking with their children when they were attacked.
James Andrew McGann was arrested in a barbershop in Springdale, Arkansas, on Wednesday, charged with the double murder of Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, on a trail in the Devil’s Den State Park.
It comes after police released a photo and composite sketch of the suspect. McGann’s arrest ends a frantic five-day manhunt. He has been charged with two counts of capital murder, according to a release from the Arkansas State police.
The couple were attacked on a trail in the vast state park at around 2.30 p.m. Saturday and died defending their two daughters, who are aged seven and nine, according to family members.
The children escaped the attack unharmed, and later reported that their parents had been stabbed, according to CNN. They are being cared for by family members.
“Clinton and Cristen died heroes protecting their little girls, and they deserve justice,” the Brink family told a local ABC News affiliate.
The Brinks had just moved to the state from South Dakota, and Clinton was set to start a new job as a milkman.
Investigators have not released a motive for the double slaying, allegedly carried out by McGann, who had also recently moved to the area and taken up a new job, according to authorities.
The 28-year-old was being held in the Washington County jail on Wednesday, according to AP.
Springdale Public Schools confirmed that McGann was a recently hired teacher.
Superintendent Jared Cleveland posted on Facebook, “Andrew McGann was a teacher candidate hired for the upcoming school year, who has not yet begun employment with the district. This individual has not at any time come into contact with Springdale students or the families we serve.”
The head of the State Police, Col. Mike Hagar, said a “monster” had been snared.
Praising the cooperation between law enforcement agencies, he said: “Because of their hard work and investigative skill, we were able to take a monster off the streets, and bring relief to those two precious girls, and the rest of our citizens.”
Col. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the department’s criminal investigation division, said the public’s help was “overwhelming.” Tips and video footage sent by the public proved instrumental, she said.
“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 said.
Devil’s Den is a 2,500-acre state park near West Fork, about 140 miles northwest of state capital Little Rock.
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