Clinton David Brink, 43 & Cristen Amanda Brink, 41 found on trail - Devil's Den State Park, AR- 26 July, 2025 #2 *Arrest*

[ForensicPatterns]

Was the killer’s DNA already in a database for some reason and they got a hit when they ran the crime scene DNA through?

That is most likely why they could easily catch it. I bet he has a criminal history, nothing that could get him hired in Texas to work at a school, but then again, if it's from when he was a minor, it could be a sealed record that wasn't available.

Did they narrow down the suspect to those owning KIA Stingers and go trash diving to get DNA from them all to compare?

I mean they did that with Rex Huberman, the Gilgo Beach Killer, they saw him drop a pizza box into the trash along with the soda he was drinking, grabbed it as soon as he was out of sight, then collected the DNA! That is how they caught him.

 

[indicolite22]

This is one of the first accounts about his last job in Oklahoma. Mother and daughter are interviewed. The girl says that she liked him at first and that he was funny. The mother continues that he was cool at first but his demeanor changed towards the end of the school year, like he checked out mentally. He acted like he didn't want to be there any more and would stare at the parents. A lot of the children said that he was rude.

 

[knla]

I can't find the exact post now but somebody here suggested (before LE even mentioned the make and model of the actual car used by the perp) that the car may not be a Mazda but rather a Kia Stinger. Whoever that was - impressive skills!

Post 922 poster mentions a Kia Stinger from watching a You Tube video. I'd never heard of a Kia Stinger either. They are going to be discontinued because there isn't enough demand for them. They were only available in US starting around 2016. They aren't inexpensive.

 

[arielilane]

Video 5+ minutes

Unless there is a criminal charge filed the next district that hire an individual is not going to know a lot about that individual that they are hiring. Because from district to district there are different rules, laws, and not all allow internal files to be shared. Most do not. So speculation, allegations would not be able to be shared legally with another school district.

 

[Inthedetails]

That is most likely why they could easily catch it. I bet he has a criminal history, nothing that could get him hired in Texas to work at a school, but then again, if it's from when he was a minor, it could be a sealed record that wasn't available.



I mean they did that with Rex Huberman, the Gilgo Beach Killer, they saw him drop a pizza box into the trash along with the soda he was drinking, grabbed it as soon as he was out of sight, then collected the DNA! That is how they caught him.

Yes, sounds like LE knew the owner of that particular car was the perp. They entered the salon and asked him if the car was his. They didn't know HE was McGann at that point, but that McGann was the car owner. But then he told them he was the owner and that cinched it.

Perp = car owner
Car owner = McGann
Man in salon = car owner
Therefore, Man in salon = McGann = perp

Love to see detective work in action. Satisfying.

jmopinion

 

[sunflowermomma]

My mother is a teacher and has to get fingerprinted as part of the her licensing process. Is it possible that the perp was not actually a licensed teacher? He moved around and taught in states with less stringent qualifications for educations. Oklahoma loosened their requirements and qualifications for teachers recently, teachers no longer need a degree and in some cases can teach without a license. Not sure if this means a background check is not done. MOO.

 

[PunishThenForgive]

Actually, I wonder if he went off drugs - perhaps he was on anti-psychotics and stopped taking them. I do not know if those types of prescription drugs would preclude someone from being hired. I would think so, but I am not certain. I don't even know if they test for those drugs in the panel. There are different drug testing panels, from very basic to very comprehensive.

I wonder this as well. Sometimes people with severe mental illness take self-prescribed medication holidays when on break from work (which happens each year for teachers), and those with undiagnosed mental illness may allow themselves to self-medicate with illegal drugs while on break.

The parent accusation and the huge duffel bag make me think AM is a child predator, but the LE denial that he targeted the two Brink girls and my initial impression (when I thought he carried a small duffel bag instead of a huge one) make me think mental illness.

Now that I know AM played rugby, I think he may have suffered a TBI like the recent mass shooter in Manhattan. And AM’s thick neck and muscular back make me think of roid rage.

So many possible explanations. I just hope when LE said AM didn’t target the girls, they didn’t just mean that AM didn’t target the two Brink girls ahead of time. For the sake of the other children AM encountered back in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and now Arkansas, I hope our fears he may be a child predator are wrong.

IMO

 

[indicolite22]

In the previous video I posted, his pupil is quoted saying that he had the same large duffel bag when working at her school in the past school year.

How did he go from the cool teacher to detached mean guy in a year? Relationship problems? Money problems? His contract not getting renewed? Drugs? Other types of addiction? Other sources of frustration? Did he start blaming other people for his situation? Did he blame parents? His victims were parents.

 

[PunishThenForgive]

DBM (double post)

 

[acutename]

Drug use after the hire wouldn't be detected, ykwim?

Some drugs make a person feel like a super power, which might have been happening on the trail. And, some drugs fill the body with rage.

I'm not saying the guy was on drugs, but not ruling it out.

jmopinion

Eta: if he was on drugs, it will show up in his hair.

his expressions in many of the photos just do not look normal, IMO. You would run away from him if you saw him. Some elementary school children would be afraid of him. IMO.

 

[Cedars]

Now that law enforcement has made clear that this was a random attack and that the children were not targets, it leads to the conclusion that an argument between the father and the suspect must have escalated.

The fact that the mom took her children to safety and then told them to run as fast and far as they could, makes me realize that she, too, could have run with them and completely escaped the attack. She was only killed because she went back to help her husband. Tragic all around, as the children would still have their mom had she continued to run with them.

I wish we knew how the initial encounter began.

Just bringing in this recent news update:

Mother killed in Arkansas stabbings went back to help husband after getting her children to safety, police say - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

(CNN) — Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable.While on a family hike at Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday, Cristen’s husband Clinton<a class="excerpt-read-more"...

wsvn.com

"Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Police."

 

[ForensicPatterns]

My mother is a teacher and has to get fingerprinted as part of the her licensing process. Is it possible that the perp was not actually a licensed teacher? He moved around and taught in states with less stringent qualifications for educations. Oklahoma loosened their requirements and qualifications for teachers recently, teachers no longer need a degree and in some cases can teach without a license. Not sure if this means a background check is not done. MOO.

You'd be surprised to learn you don't need a teaching degree to be a substitute teacher, which is why he was moving around so much, that is probably what he was!

 

[Cedars]

iOne witness mentioned seeing blood on his face. We know now, his face was beat up after the crime. In the photo, he is perhaps standing like that to hide his face (rather than surveying the distance before the crime).

We don't know, but could be!

jmopinion

I'm not sure whether that blood was from being punched, or just the consequences of the extremely messy business of stabbing people.

I'm amazed forensic examiners were able to detect 3 different types of blood in a crime scene located in the woods 1/2 mile from a parking lot. Those people are unsung heroes, too.

 

[ADP2019]

Just bringing in this recent news update:

Mother killed in Arkansas stabbings went back to help husband after getting her children to safety, police say - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

(CNN) — Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable.While on a family hike at Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday, Cristen’s husband Clinton<a class="excerpt-read-more"...

wsvn.com

"Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Police."

Yes, this was my understanding all along. I'm not sure where people were getting that the dad must've had a confrontation or interaction with McGann prior to the attack.

The mother's "Why are you doing this?" question aligns with it being a sudden, random ambush style of attack.

 

[ADP2019]

You'd be surprised to learn you don't need a teaching degree to be a substitute teacher, which is why he was moving around so much, that is probably what he was!

He had a teaching degree and was a certified teacher in multiple states.

 

[indicolite22]

Yes, this was my understanding all along. I'm not sure where people were getting that the dad must've had a confrontation or interaction with McGann prior to the attack.

The mother's "Why are you doing this?" question aligns with it being a sudden, random ambush style of attack.

An ambush suggests premeditation. He came to the park with the intent to kill. Judging from his eyes he was full of hate and resentment, but why?

 

[ForensicPatterns]

He had a teaching degree and was a certified teacher in multiple states.

Then he was applying to states for work who didn't do thorough background checks let alone police who didn't communicate with neighboring states as often, kind of like they did back before the 80's, Ted Bundy was the first time in US history where neighboring states were sharing info of matching patterns in cases, that's how they put together it was him!

So I bet you if anything states with loose background checks was the most likely reason why this happened.

 

[acutename]

Video 5+ minutes

Unless there is a criminal charge filed the next district that hire an individual is not going to know a lot about that individual that they are hiring. Because from district to district there are different rules, laws, and not all allow internal files to be shared. Most do not. So speculation, allegations would not be able to be shared legally with another school district.

A lot of districts hire temps because of maternity or some other health leave- they do not always offer full employment so it would not necessarily be a sign of something wrong if he was changing jobs.

 

[SMK777]

Just bringing in this recent news update:

Mother killed in Arkansas stabbings went back to help husband after getting her children to safety, police say - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

(CNN) — Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable.While on a family hike at Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday, Cristen’s husband Clinton<a class="excerpt-read-more"...

wsvn.com

"Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Poli

Thank you. Good to have it confirmed that he was read his Miranda rights prior to his admissions.

 

[truthfinder2019]

Has anyone noticed there are two different mugshots with two different hairstyles ?

Devil's Den murder suspect James Andrew McGann was North Texas elementary teacher

The suspect who is accused of killing a married couple who were hiking with their children at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas was a teacher in Flower Mound, according to an Associated Press report.

www.fox4news.com

Former Oklahoma teacher arrested for double homicide at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas

James Andrew McGann updated mugshot (PHOTO: Washington County Sheriff)

ktul.com

Vs

Teacher arrested for Arkansas double murder admits to killing married couple: Police

Clinton David Brin and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, were "fatally attacked" while out hiking with their two daughters at Devil's Den State Park, police said.

abcnews.go.com

The latter being the hairstyle he had when being arrested. No nose pimple either.

I wonder from when the first one is