The suspect in the murders of two hikers in an Arkansas state park is now being investigated for possible links to similar murders in other states.
Andrew James McGann, a 28-year-old former elementary school teacher, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to two counts of capital murder in the July 26 stabbing deaths of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, at Devil’s Den State Park in Washington County, Arkansas.
Authorities are now investigating McGann for possible connections to unsolved homicides in state parks in Vermont and Wisconsin.
Arkansas State Police allege McGann killed the couple in a “completely random event” while they hiked with their two daughters.
“We have no reason to believe there was any known association between our suspect and our victims,” said Col. Mike Hagar, Arkansas State Police director, per Fox News. “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.”
DNA evidence further linked McGann to the scene.
McGann, arrested on July 30 in Springdale, showed little emotion during his 30-minute arraignment at the Washington County Detention Center, where he was appointed a public defender and ordered held without bond. The Washington County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office stated, “the state continues to pursue the death penalty,” with a trial set for November 14 at the Washington County Courthouse.
Prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter anticipates a gag order due to the case’s notoriety, but emphasized McGann’s right to a fair trial.
Investigators are exploring possible links to other cases.
In Wisconsin, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office Det. Sgt. Drew Bulin said his agency received tips about a “possible connection” to the October 14, 2020, stabbing death of John Craig Schmutzer at Devil’s Lake State Park.
“We’ve received many tips, both from citizens in Arkansas and Wisconsin, regarding the Devil’s Den Homicide and the possible connection to our homicide from October 2020,” Bulin told Fox News Digital. “We’ve been in contact with Arkansas investigators and will be working to determine if the similarities are a coincidence or if there is something more.”
McGann, described as 6 feet tall, matches the general build of Schmutzer’s killer.
In Vermont, state police contacted Arkansas authorities to discuss the 2023 shooting death of Honoree Fleming, 77, on the Delaware and Hudson Rail Trail in Castleton.
“After the Vermont State Police learned of the recent double homicide of a couple on a hiking trail in Arkansas and the arrest of a suspect, VSP detectives took the routine step of contacting their counterparts in Arkansas to discuss the case,” the Vermont State Police wrote in an August 7 press release. “At this time, there is no known link between the suspect in that case and the Honoree Fleming homicide, or to Vermont in general.”
“I think anybody that has an unsolved hiking trail murder, they’re probably taking note of this right now,” said Shane Wilkinson, a former Benton County chief deputy prosecutor, per Fox News.
Former homicide detective Ted Williams added, “I would have to believe not only are law enforcement in Wisconsin and Vermont interested in McGann. But they also interested him all over this country because of the manner in which he was alleged to have stabbed this couple to death.”
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