An ex-teacher facing charges for a double homicide at Devil’s Den State Park made a court appearance on Friday.
Andrew McGann attended a court session where Judge Joanna Taylor set a status hearing for January 15, 2026.
On that day, McGann’s defense team submitted over a dozen motions, including one challenging the constitutionality of Arkansas’ capital murder statute.
This motion comes in response to Prosecutor Brandon Carter’s pursuit of the death penalty, as reported by 4029 TV.
In Washington County, McGann officially entered a plea of not guilty to the two capital murder charges in August.
As earlier covered by CrimeOnline, McGann, a former educator, stands accused of murdering a couple on a hiking trail in Arkansas. The victims, Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, had recently relocated to the state from Montana.
The couple had been hiking in Devil’s Den State Park in West Fork on July 26 with their daughters, 7 and 9, who were not physically harmed.
Prosecutors said that a hiker spotted the two children alone before noticing the crime scene. The hiker called 911.
Once at the scene, police indicated that they found a trail of blood.
Witnesses told police that they spotted a man who “emerged from the trail with what appeared to be blood on his face.”
The man got into a black sedan and drove away.
Based on the description of the vehicle, police tracked a Kia Stinger around 30 miles north of the state park, where they arrested McGann.
Police found him at Lupita’s Beauty Salon in Springdale, where he had been in the process of getting his hair cut.
ASP Director Col. Mike Hagar announced that the victims died from stab wounds, adding that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the children were the targets.
“It appears to be a completely random event,” Hagar said. “We have no reason to believe there was any known association between our suspect and our victims.”
McGann, according to Hagar, confessed to the crime.
“Although everyone is innocent until proven guilty, we did confirm this morning that the suspect’s DNA is a positive match to the DNA recovered at the crime scene,” Hagar said.
“During an interview with investigators, the suspect admitted to committing the murders. We also executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered items consistent with the crime.”
McGann remains at the Washington County Detention Center. He is being held without bond throughout his trial, KATV reported.
[Feature Photo: Cristen and Clinton Brink/Facebook]
