A COUPLE knifed to death in front of their children in Devil’s Den State Park shared a tragic final message before they were killed.

Clinton Brink, aged 43, and Cristin Brink, aged 41, were tragically killed during an isolated family hike, triggering an extensive manhunt in northwest Arkansas. This pursuit concluded with the arrest of Andrew James McGann, a 28-year-old former teacher.

Mary Hinebauch, who sang in the choir alongside the couple at their past church in Miles City, Montana, shared with Fox News her recollections of them along with insights into their last interaction.

She said: “They were outdoorsy people. They loved to take the girls and go do outdoor things and go hiking. They loved every minute of it.

“That wasn’t an unnatural place for them to be. They did tons of stuff like that.”

The family had recently moved to Arkansas in order to be closer to Clinton’s mother. 

Mary recounted: “I checked our last message, and it seemed they had just arrived in Arkansas and were in the process of settling in.”

“And I just had said, ‘Keep in touch.’ And that was the last little conversation we had.”

The friend remembered that Cristen always had “an extra hand for somebody else if they needed anything,” despite having little herself.

She was also remembered as an incredibly talented singer.

According to Arkansas State Police, McGann initially assaulted Clinton, who bravely tried to fend him off while his wife, Cristen, urgently guided their two young daughters, aged 7 and 9, away from the peril.

Cristen, 41, returned to help her husband but was also fatally stabbed by McGann, who suffered injuries during the scuffle.

The search for McGann, spanning four days, concluded on July 30. He unexpectedly appeared at Lupita’s Beauty Salon in Springdale, approximately 35 miles north of Devil’s Den State Park, looking disheveled and seeking a haircut.

Mere moments after taking a seat at the salon, detectives arrived swiftly, apprehending McGann as he sat in the barber’s chair, still clad in a dark cape around his neck.

McGann admitted to the murders after being arrested, according to investigators.

Amy, who also knew the Brinks from their old Montana church, described the family as “wonderful people”.

She marvelled at Cristin, who got A’s in nursing school while raising babies and playing volleyball.

Amy said: “I loved her so much, and it just doesn’t seem real.

“Just seems there should be something I could do to take all this terrible tragedy back. Sadly, they are gone.”

TEACHER FROM HELL

In the days following his arrest, troubling claims about McGann’s life have come to light, including allegations concerning his behavior as a public school teacher in Texas and Oklahoma.

Between 2022 and 2023, McGann worked as a fourth-grade teacher at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, northwest of Dallas.

However, in spring 2023 he was placed on administrative leave over concerns related to classroom management, professional judgement, and favoritism, the Lewisville Independent School District, which includes Donald Elementary, said in a statement.

Parents of students at Donald Elementary School have come forward with allegations that McGann behaved inappropriately with young girls.

One dad, whose son was in the suspect‘s fourth-grade class in Donald Elementary, told the New York Post that McGann would “usually be surrounded by kids, especially little girls,” would “tickle and ask girls to sit on his lap.”

Sierra Marcum, whose son was also one of McGann’s students, told CBS News that her child also expressed discomfort with how the teacher treated female students, including that he allegedly kept some in his classroom alone during recess.

The Lewisville Independent School District said an internal investigation into McGann found “no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students.”

McGann was allowed to resign in May 2023 and then moved to Oklahoma where he got a job as a fifth grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary School in Broken Arrow for the 2023-2024 school year.

A former after-school assistant, who asked to remain anonymous, told The U.S. Sun that she worked with McGann at Spring Creek Elementary in August 2023, and also witnessed his alleged favoritism with girl students.

“Always noticed that he hung out with the female kids more than the male kids,” the former co-worker, who was 16 years old when she began working with McGann in after school child care programs, said.

“I was fully unaware while working with him what happened in Texas. I always thought he was weird and something was up. I didn’t really pay no mind to it.

“Whenever he did speak, it was quiet and very short responses. I was only 16 when I worked with him, but he just had something up.

“Most of the time, when I tried to talk to him he wouldn’t answer.”

The woman added, “But he’d leave at the same time I did, so, we’d walk out the building together.

“He was always distant when parents came to pick up their kids. He never talked to the parents.”

Timeline of the Devil’s Den murders

Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 43, were killed while hiking at Devil’s Den State Park with their daughters. Below is a timeline of the case:

July 16 – The Brink family has their water service turned on after recently moving to Prairie Grove, Arkansas, according to Mayor David Falk.

July 26 – Clinton and Cristen are found dead on Devil’s Den trail at around 2:30 pm after their two daughters ran to the visitor’s center and said their parents were attacked.

July 27 – Police release the identities of the slain couple. Cops ask park visitors to check their pictures and footage from Saturday for possible images of the suspect.

July 28 – Arkansas State Police releases a sketch of a person of interest in the case.

July 29 – ASP releases a picture from a witness of the person of interest in the case.

July 30 – Andrew James McGann is arrested mid-haircut at Lupita’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop just before 5 pm.