A 28-year-old schoolteacher has been charged in the fatal stabbing of a married couple who were hiking with their two young daughters in a remote area of an Arkansas state park over the weekend, in what the authorities said Thursday appeared to have been a random attack.
The teacher, James Andrew McGann, 28, of Springdale, Ark., was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of capital murder, the Arkansas State Police said. The victims, Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, died from stab wounds from a knife attack in Devil’s Den State Park, the authorities said at a news conference on Thursday.
The police said that Mr. McGann first attacked Mr. Brink on a trail in the park and that Ms. Brink took the couple’s two daughters to safety while her husband fought him. She then returned to help once the children were out of harm’s way, they said.
Mr. McGann was injured in the struggle and suffered “blood loss,” the police said. Blood recovered at the scene helped the police link Mr. McGann to the killing, they said.
The Brinks’ daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not injured and were in the care of family members, the police said on Thursday. (The couple’s third child did not accompany them on the hike, the police said.)
The children gave investigators an initial description of Mr. McGann, the police said. A witness provided information about a vehicle, later identified a Kia Stinger, that Mr. McGann was seen driving away from the park, the police said.
A motive for the killing remained unclear on Thursday. The police said there was no known connected between Mr. McGann and the Brinks.
Brandon Carter, the prosecuting attorney for Washington County, Ark., said that his office would allow a jury to decide whether to impose the death penalty if Mr. McGann is convicted.
“The state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case,” Mr. Carter said at the news conference.
It was not immediately clear if Mr. McGann had a lawyer.
Mr. McGann was a “teacher candidate” for the upcoming school year in the Springdale Public Schools, Jared Cleveland, the school district’s superintendent, said in an emailed statement, adding that Mr. McGann had not started in that role.
“This individual has not at any time come into contact with Springdale students or the families we serve,” Mr. Cleveland said.
Mr. Cleveland said he could not provide additional information, including what grade or subject Mr. McGann was going to teach, because of the criminal investigation.
The Brinks had recently moved to Prairie Grove, Ark. The family “started water service with the city of Prairie Grove on July 16,” David Faulk, the city’s mayor, said in a statement.
The state police received reports of “a double homicide at the park” on Saturday afternoon, and shortly afterward found the couple’s bodies on a walking trail. The police asked local residents and park visitors for help in their search for the killer, requesting any cellphone videos, photos, security footage or other materials from the day of the killings.
On Tuesday, the authorities released a photo of a man facing away from the camera and wearing all black, a backpack and baseball cap, describing him as a “person of interest.” The photo, the police said, was taken by another hiker.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas said that while no news could heal the harm done to the Brink family, the arrest had brought some comfort to the state.
Mark Walker is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on transportation. He is based in Washington.
Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects.
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