Hairdresser left ‘shaking’ as Devil’s Den Park murder suspect arrested while getting a haircut
A hairdresser in Arkansas was left “shaking” after a man suspected of killing a couple at Devil’s Den State Park was arrested while she was giving him a haircut.
Andrew James McGann, 28, was taken into custody at Lupita’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop in Springdale just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to Arkansas State Police.
McGann is charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, who were killed Saturday while hiking with their two young daughters, ages 7 and 9, on a remote trail in the park.
The dramatic arrest happened right while the hairdresser had just started doing a fade on McGann’s hair.
His hairdresser posted on social media that cops entered the salon and “told him to stand up from my chair as I was in the middle of cutting his hair.”
“Sooo I’m cutting a guy’s hair.. And I’m shaking because now there’s cops and detectives,” she wrote. “Told them I havnt swept up the hair incase they need it and they 💯 said they did 👀 yall im shaking.”
According to the shop’s owner, detectives identified McGann and asked him if a black sedan parked outside belonged to him before taking him into custody.
Footage from the scene shows investigators photographing hair clippings on the floor and placing evidence markers around them.
Another video reportedly shows a black four-door sedan being loaded onto a rollback tow truck, the vehicle taped off and marked as evidence, according to the local news outlet. Police closed the business after the arrest.
The arrest came one day after Arkansas State Police released a sketch and surveillance photo of a person of interest in the double murder.
The man was described as wearing a long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up sleeves, dark pants, a dark baseball cap, sunglasses, and fingerless gloves. He was carrying a black backpack and seen driving a black sedan, possibly a Mazda, with a license plate covered in tape.
While the official cause of death has not been released, police radio traffic obtained by CNN suggests the victims were stabbed. “Two children are there. They advised that their parents were assaulted. One was possibly stabbed,” an officer said via radio.
First responders arriving at the scene said they could hear yells for help and later confirmed finding the bodies on the Lower Devil’s Den Trail.
McGann, who has teaching certifications in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, was set to begin teaching in Springdale Public Schools next week.
“This individual has not at any time come into contact with Springdale students or the families we serve,” said Springdale Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jared Cleveland, according to 5 News.
Parents in Texas allege that he was forced to resign from an elementary school there after alleged concerning behavior toward young girls, the outlet reported.
“My son and several students witnessed Mr. McGann being inappropriate with little girls in the class and reported it to the principal at the time,” Sierra Marcum wrote on Facebook, according to the New York Post.
“Mr. McGann was allowed to resign without consequence and statement was put out saying there was no evidence of inappropriate behavior,” she added. “He was then allowed to continue teaching in other districts in Oklahoma and Arkansas.”
Marcum, who previously spoke with the Associated Press about McGann, described him as “the most standoffish teacher she had ever met.”
“Pretty cold. You could ask him a question, and he would give you a one-word response,” she said. “Overall just pretty disinterested in his students.”
The Brinks were hiking with their two young daughters on Saturday when they were killed. The children were not injured and are now safe with relatives.
The family had recently moved from South Dakota to Prairie Grove, Arkansas, according to the Associated Press. Their water service had been connected less than two weeks before the murders, and Clinton Brink was scheduled to start a new job as a milk delivery driver on Monday.
In a statement released through police, the family of the victims said: “Clinton and Cristen died heroes, protecting their little girls and they deserve justice. They will forever live on in all of our hearts.”
