Introduction to the Case
The man who authorities say admitted to fatally stabbing two hikers in Arkansas grew up in Chicago and went to high school in Oak Park. Andrew James McGann, a 28-year-old teacher who was expected to start a new job in northwest Arkansas on Aug. 11, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the July 26 killing of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, the Associated Press reported.
Background of the Accused
Police said McGann stabbed the couple, whom he didn’t know, at Devil’s Den, a 2,500-acre state park about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock. They were hiking with their 7- and 9-year-old daughters. McGann was cooperative during his arrest, authorities said, and admitted to killing the couple soon after. Police also matched his DNA to blood found at the crime scene. McGann, who has no criminal record, grew up in Garfield Ridge and lived there through his high school years. He attended Fenwick High School in Oak Park, graduating in 2015, according to school spokesperson Scott Hardesty.
Andrew James McGann in the Fenwick High School yearbook
The Arrest and Investigation
McGann is pictured as a senior in Fenwick’s 2015 yearbook and quoted as well. The question posed to students was, “What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you at Fenwick?” McGann, who called himself “Andy,” responded to the question by saying, “Slipping up the stairs, lemonade in hand.”
An undated photo provided by the Arkansas State Police of Andrew James McGann, 28
Connection to the Community
McGann returned to Garfield Ridge two years ago to show his girlfriend the home where he grew up, according to Anthony Morales, a 71-year-old retired CTA maintenance worker who bought the home from the McGann family in 2020. Morales said that his wife communicated with the McGann family during the period that they bought the home and that he only met Andrew McGann that one time. He said McGann told him who he was when he arrived unannounced with his girlfriend.
The childhood
