Clinton David Brink, 43 & Cristen Amanda Brink, 41 found on trail - Devil's Den State Park, AR- 26 July, 2025 #3 *Arrest*

[Ghostwheel]

True- a K-Bar is a fixed blade knife.

But all of the knives in our kitchens are fixed blade.
I would not describe any kitchen knife as like a K-Bar.

To me saying like Kohberger knife means something very different. It means a knife used for combat, a military knife.

I hope most collectors of knifes aren’t murderers!

IMO

I see what you mean. To me, saying "like a Kohberger knife" is just lumping in all not kitchen knives that don't fold or extend, excepting dirks and daggers, using a known "scary" name. Depends on where you are looking from. I, personally, would use the term of " combat knife" or "hunting knife" if either is what it was, certainly would not say "Kohberger knife". The blade on an EW Stone knife is identical to a Ka-Bar USMC and would do just as much damage, but I would call it a "theater knife" collectable. I'm just that way. I do see your point.

Not to say what he had might not be exactly like Ka-Bar USMC. As I have said before, not too expensive and totally functional for normal uses. Cuts rope, thin wire, canvas and banana bread at weddings where someone forgot to pre-slice. My sister expected no less from me. Her new in laws were a bit taken aback. It was pristine clean.

 

[AngTxGal]

Thank you—- your post was so informative.

Unfortunately every single sentence was heartbreaking, and for me the one I’ve quoted above is the worst of all.

I suppose it isn’t true then that the mother brought them safely to the visitors’ center and then went back to help her husband. It seems that neither of the parents had much of a chance of survival.

The long list you’ve provided from the Nancy Grace conversation holds so many dreadful details.

Had they locked this guy up long ago for what appears to me to already be abusive behavior toward children, we would have simply had an anonymous, happy family of five enjoying a day at the park.

And we’d never have heard of this creep.

JMO

When I heard her say a hiker found them on the trail crying, I wondered what transpired on that walk to the visitor center.

I can’t imagine being that adult! If they begin to share what they had seen, and you know that guy is still there and could be coming your way and you have a ways to go before you get to the visitor center. But you can’t speed up and run because you have two little girls with you.

What a tough situation- and they just said hiker. It could be that it was a man- and so AJM didn’t come toward the girls because he saw the man with them??

Tough!
IMO

 

[The Zookeeper]

I’d like to know what happened to Khan!!

I’m a big animal lover and my husband who was a sheriffs deputy, reassured me that animals were always taken care of when they made arrests or did investigations. It is part of the protocol for their job. They would first try to get family to take any pets, but if that didn’t work out, they would call animal control or the humane society and wait for someone to come get the pets. We live in a rural area, and he frequently even had to call someone to pick up horses, chickens, cows and pigs. He also has given pets and livestock to neighbors who were willing and appeared to be capable of caring for the animals. So I am sure Khan is safe and taken care of.

 

[AngTxGal]

I see what you mean. To me, saying "like a Kohberger knife" is just lumping in all not kitchen knives that don't fold or extend, excepting dirks and daggers, using a known "scary" name. Depends on where you are looking from. I, personally, would use the term of " combat knife" or "hunting knife" if either is what it was, certainly would not say "Kohberger knife". The blade on an EW Stone knife is identical to a Ka-Bar USMC and would do just as much damage, but I would call it a "theater knife" collectable. I'm just that way. I do see your point.

Not to say what he had might not be exactly like Ka-Bar USMC. As I have said before, not too expensive and totally functional for normal uses. Cuts rope, thin wire, canvas and banana bread at weddings where someone forgot to pre-slice. My sister expected no less from me. Her new in laws were a bit taken aback. It was pristine clean.

As it was Nancy Grace it could be the length of the knife, based on a description of wounds and not a visual of the knife.
If she could get inside info about what they found in his car or home
I suppose she could also get info about the autopsy.

I dont know-

IMO

 

[gitana1]

I think the important thing to understand is people are not always what they appear on the surface. He may have been masking his behavior and that could take a toll on him over time . I honestly think I would be scared to leave my house if I could read everyone’s true thoughts. I try to keep safe while at the same time hate to assume the worst. There are predators everywhere around us functioning very normally in society. Then there are those is society who are normal caring people inside but appear “off” or “weird”. Can only imagine how many in the autism spectrum appear to people who don’t know them.

Predators fit patterns. Someone on the spectrum, for example, would not befriend only little girls and not little boys, in most cases. And trying to get only one sex to sit on his lap, at an age typically too old to be doing so, is not explained away by autism or anything else that isn’t nefarious, IMO.

The man was arrested for viciously stabbing the parents of two little girls, to death. He is no gentle, misunderstood, eccentric. His behavior should be viewed with the prejudice that his alleged crime, creates, I believe.

 

[LadyL]

Thank you—- your post was so informative.

Unfortunately every single sentence was heartbreaking, and for me the one I’ve quoted above is the worst of all.

I suppose it isn’t true then that the mother brought them safely to the visitors’ center and then went back to help her husband. It seems that neither of the parents had much of a chance of survival.

The long list you’ve provided from the Nancy Grace conversation holds so many dreadful details.

Had they locked this guy up long ago for what appears to me to already be abusive behavior toward children, we would have simply had an anonymous, happy family of five enjoying a day at the park.

And we’d never have heard of this creep.

JMO

oldest daughter wasn't with them

 

[LadyL]

I listened to an interview with the dispatcher who took the call, she talked to the little girls.
That is what she said, heartbreaking


IMO

can you link it please or link the place where the interview is?

 

[indicolite22]

[bbm]

was that in MSM?

From the police press conference (at 19:45 in the video): "We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help the husband." They also state that she did not return all the way to the car. So it appears that the girls didn't just run away from the scene on their own.

 

[indicolite22]

On a more somber note, one websleuther posted recently that they strongly believe the bag had a shovel in it. Could the cat Khan have passed away, and AM took him to bury in the park? It's not usually permitted to bury a pet on rental property, and the need for a burial and digging at the park could also explain the fingerless gloves. It could also explain the terrible expression on his face as seen by the group of 4 hikers, though we've seen plenty of other photos of him looking mighty scary as just a regular expression. If the Brink girls stumbled upon him in the midst of a pet burial, or innocently said something triggering about his pet/a pet, or the father did, could that alone set AM off?

TOTAL invention on my part, based on one comment that the bag looked like a pet carrier. (I think someone much earlier recognized it as a particular brand of athletic bag, though.)

The picture with Khan the cat was from 2022 (or even earlier). Maybe it wasn't really his cat or he didn't have it any more in 2025.

 

[AngTxGal]

From the police press conference (at 19:45 in the video): "We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help the husband." They also state that she did not return all the way to the car. So it appears that the girls didn't just run away from the scene on their own.

I think it is both, not one or the other, but the mom- Cristen, didn’t take her daughter to their car or to the visitor center.

The mom moved the girls to a safer location away from the guy who was fighting with her husband- how far that is, we don’t know.
She then told the little girls to run as fast and far as the could. Those are the words given by the dispatcher on her interview, she took the call and spoke to the little girls. I heard her tell the story, breaking up crying as she did.
I suppose then is when she went back to her husband.
The little girls ran, the dispatcher said the told her they did run until they could no longer hear their mother screaming.
At some point they must have stopped and cried, thinking she would come for them.
A hiker came by and took them to the visitors center.

It gets me every time, and I can’t see to type… but those poor innocent little girls!!
I cannot imagine the horror of the entire situation, how long it took, the sights, sounds, and smells, how will they process what they have seen and heard?
And for what?

I’m so glad he was not able to get to them, that they got away.
And, that he was not their teacher that they recognized out there. How confusing and horrific in different ways would that have been!

IMO

 

[knla]

can you link it please or link the place where the interview is?

I did a google search for dispatcher, devil's den and found a you tube video. The 911 operator was talking away in the second part of the video. I don't think she was supposed to be giving interviews.

 

[Hexe]

Wait, where did the info about three bags come from?

Re the duffle, could it possibly be a pet carrier? Considering the mesh parts?

Pet carrier bags have usually rigid sides and bottom, the one he carried was completely floppy. Not a pet carrier, IMO.

 

[AngTxGal]

Predators fit patterns. Someone on the spectrum, for example, would not befriend only little girls and not little boys, in most cases. And trying to get only one sex to sit on his lap, at an age typically too old to be doing so, is not explained away by autism or anything else that isn’t nefarious, IMO.

The man was arrested for viciously stabbing the parents of two little girls, to death. He is no gentle, misunderstood, eccentric. His behavior should be viewed with the prejudice that his alleged crime, creates, I believe.

Looking for any info from a prelim autopsy I found this. There is wording here that I’d not seen or heard. I wonder what to make of it, it is quoted so it is verbatim.
Where is this report?

News 5 Preliminary Report gives new details on Devil’s Den killings
After his arrest, McGann was taken to the ASP Troop L Headquarters, where he "made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides," the report said.
The report added that McGann "waited with deliberated purpose."

I can interpret this in many ways, including premeditation. Hmm

IMO

 

[indicolite22]

Looking for any info from a prelim autopsy I found this. There is wording here that I’d not seen or heard. I wonder what to make of it, it is quoted so it is verbatim.
Where is this report?

News 5 Preliminary Report gives new details on Devil’s Den killings
After his arrest, McGann was taken to the ASP Troop L Headquarters, where he "made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides," the report said.
The report added that McGann "waited with deliberated purpose."

I can interpret this in many ways, including premeditation. Hmm

IMO

I doubt the autopsy was leaked. Nancy Grace often speculates with her guests about hypothetical situations and alludes to other cases.

The "waited" part in the preliminary report makes me think of an ambush. He either was hiding and surprised them or stopped on the trail and pretended he was busy with something, until they reached him at which point he pounced.

 

[Hexe]

We know McGann played rugby, but was he also watching it, as in: travelling to see matches live? I ask because Atlanta has a Major League rugby team, who played semifinals in their city, on July 24, 2021, four days before Katie Janness got murdered. This dude, according to his school mates has serious anger issues, who knows, maybe his way to release pent up anger is ambushing people with a knife?

 

[indicolite22]

I think it is both, not one or the other, but the mom- Cristen, didn’t take her daughter to their car or to the visitor center.

The mom moved the girls to a safer location away from the guy who was fighting with her husband- how far that is, we don’t know.
She then told the little girls to run as fast and far as the could. Those are the words given by the dispatcher on her interview, she took the call and spoke to the little girls. I heard her tell the story, breaking up crying as she did.
I suppose then is when she went back to her husband.
The little girls ran, the dispatcher said the told her they did run until they could no longer hear their mother screaming.
At some point they must have stopped and cried, thinking she would come for them.
A hiker came by and took them to the visitors center.

It gets me every time, and I can’t see to type… but those poor innocent little girls!!
I cannot imagine the horror of the entire situation, how long it took, the sights, sounds, and smells, how will they process what they have seen and heard?
And for what?

I’m so glad he was not able to get to them, that they got away.
And, that he was not their teacher that they recognized out there. How confusing and horrific in different ways would that have been!

IMO

I wonder how much time had passed between the start of the incident and mother's return to the scene? The perp could have quickly stabbed the father and ran away. IMO, the fact that he attacked the mother as well means that he and the father were still fighting (which is less likely if the victim was stabbed in the heart) or he hid and struck when the mother was trying to revive the husband. How did he know that she wouldn't return with help, perhaps someone who was armed with a gun? She must have returned very quickly and he saw that she was alone. In the meantime the children heard her screams while they were still running away (if that part is true and they weren't handed over to another adult by the mother). The responders heard screams too, although at that point the perp was likely gone, or they would have encountered him (they approached the scene from both sides of the trail loop).

 

[AngTxGal]

I wonder how much time had passed between the start of the incident and mother's return to the scene? The perp could have quickly stabbed the father and ran away. IMO, the fact that he attacked the mother as well means that he and the father were still fighting (which is less likely if the victim was stabbed in the heart) or he hid and struck when the mother was trying to revive the husband. How did he know that she wouldn't return with help, perhaps someone who was armed with a gun? She must have returned very quickly and he saw that she was alone. In the meantime the children heard her screams while they were still running away (if that part is true and they weren't handed over to another adult by the mother). The responders heard screams too, although at that point the perp was likely gone, or they would have encountered him (they approached the scene from both sides of the trail loop).

There is so much we do not know about the initial encounter.
As my list gets longer and longer- more information will have to come out before we can get close to seeing how it played out.

The girls ran toward the visitor center
AJM exited the park in his car to the west- was described as having ‘crossed the bridge’

I am thinking the entire event from initial attack to Clinton and Cristen being subdued could have been as short as 2-3 minutes.

My Questions
Who was where when it began? Was AJM closer to the girls, or behind Clinton and Cristen?
How prepared was Clinton for an attack? Or was AJM on him before he could react?
Was Cristen also attacked before the girls ran? Or only after?
How critical was that initial attack? How big is the knife?
What kind of defense did Clinton use? AJM looks like he has injuries to his face.
Was Clinton carrying a walking stick? Cristen? A metal water bottle?
How far away were other people on the trail?
Was the hiker one person, or two? A man, a couple? Two men? More than two?
Did a hiker go to Cristen and another take the girls to the visitor’s center?
Did AJM attempt to circle around the other side and get ahead of the girls on the trail? And couldn’t find them or they were with adults?
Why use the word ‘hiker’? To me it conveys a healthy person and not an elderly couple.
Did a hiker see AJM near Cristen and Clinton?
How did AJM leave the scene? On the path or through the woods?
Who was yelling for help? Cristen, hiker, several hikers that came up on them?

I’m not thinking I have enough info to figure it out.
Trying to remember to use their names, as heartbreaking as this case is they do deserve to remain people/ parents and not just victims.

I’ve attached a map with what I think is correct at this point.
AJM left the park to the west.

IMO

 

[AngTxGal]

We know McGann played rugby, but was he also watching it, as in: travelling to see matches live? I ask because Atlanta has a Major League rugby team, who played semifinals in their city, on July 24, 2021, four days before Katie Janness got murdered. This dude, according to his school mates has serious anger issues, who knows, maybe his way to release pent up anger is ambushing people with a knife?

What do you see in common that makes you think this could be a victim of AJM?
Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA July 21, 2021 Katie Janness 40 yr old stabbing death, dog killed

AJM doesn’t seem smooth enough to be able to evade capture for four years.

IMO

 

[Hexe]

What do you see in common that makes you think this could be a victim of AJM?
Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA July 21, 2021 Katie Janness 40 yr old stabbing death, dog killed

The most obvious is use of a knife as a weapon with multiple wounds in both cases. The extent of Katie's wounds, the obvious overkill, might be a result of intense anger.
Then in both cases the victims were ambushed by the perpetrator who was lying in wait. And in both cases the murder occured in a location frequented by runners.

ETA: As for smoothiness, I've seen a lot of dumb and sloppy criminals, avoiding capture for years only because they were lucky.

 

[AngTxGal]

I was thinking, how did they know what the knife looked like?

Nancy Grace was not speculating with an expert, she said
“And there has been reports that it is similar to a Kohberger knife. We don’t know that yet, but we are trying to find that out.”

Evidently the little girls saw the first attack on their father- they saw the knife
Press conf says- collected a cache of knives at his residence
And Items shown in the photo were also collected

Show the knives from his residence to the little girls?
Check all of those knives for evidence of human blood?
Ask the ME about stab wounds and what kind of knife caused them?

Probably correlate all three of these

If there are true, he didn’t plan or cleanup very well- disorganized.
- visible blood in car
- drove around for three days seeking a place to cut his hair, walked in but would not sign in??

This means hair salons/ barbers called in and said he had been there!
Wow, not sharp pencil at all. Not sure he has lead and absolutely not in the box!

IMO