A young couple, Clinton and Cristen Brink, had just moved to Arkansas. They were settling in, literally got water connected 2 weeks ago, starting new jobs. Then one day, they take their two daughters on a hike at Devil’s Den State Park… and never come back.
They were murdered, by a 28-year-old schoolteacher named Andrew James McGann. Someone who, according to authorities, had no criminal record. He had been licensed to teach in three different states, and was just about to start a new job with Springdale Public Schools.
It was random. That’s the part that’s hard to process. There was no known connection between him and the Brinks. He didn’t know the kids. They were just in the wrong place when he decided to do something completely evil.
Police say Clinton was stabbed first. Cristen managed to get the girls to safety, but she went back for her husband. She didn’t make it. The daughters, just 7 and 9 years old, survived. They’re with family now. There’s also a third child who wasn’t there that day.
Thanks to the co-operation of the girls, police were able to begin investigations, and opened a tipline where numerous tips flooded. They say it was overwhelming.
Five days later, On Thursday, 31st July, Andrew James McGann was caught at Lupita’s Beauty Salon in Springdale, Arkansas, and he confessed. The police had already found DNA at the scene, then more evidence at his house. They said it seemed sloppy, like he thought he could get away with it.
My prayers are with the Brink family. I hope they have the grace to get through this period.
Devil’s Den is closed now, and in the wake of the Monday shooting in New York, I am left with one question. What is going on?
