FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Andrew James McGann, the man accused of killing two people at Devil’s Den State Park in July, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
McGann, 28, is charged with two counts of capital murder connected to the stabbing deaths of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, from Prairie Grove, at the West Fork park.
He entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment at the Washington County Detention Center on Thursday morning.
Washington County Judge Joanna Taylor scheduled McGann’s next hearing for Nov. 14.
A court order filed by Taylor on Aug. 13 barred any recording devices from being in the courtroom.
McGann’s arraignment lasted around 30 minutes and as his team of public defenders left the jail, questions were met with complete silence.
NewsNation local affilaite KNWA spoke with Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter after the arraignment. Carter said that McGann showed very little emotion and had little to say.
Carter said he expects a gag order to be set in the case, given the national attention it has received.
McGann made his initial court appearance on Aug. 1, where he was appointed a public defender.
Carter requested during the Aug. 1 hearing that McGann have no contact with the victim’s family. McGann was ordered to be held without bond.
McGann’s arraignment was originally scheduled for Aug. 25, but was moved up 11 days.
Carter has said that the state has not ruled out the death penalty in the case against McGann.
Devil’s Den double homicide: Case background
Arkansas State Police previously said that McGann confessed to the killings and that DNA found at the crime scene matched his. ASP said the attack on the couple was random.
A preliminary report from the Washington County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said dispatch received a 911 call from Devil’s Den State Park on July 26 from someone saying they found two bodies on a trail, and a “large amount” of blood was present.
The hiker found two girls and led them off the trail before attempting to look for their parents. That hiker then found the bodies of the parents on the trail, according to the report.
ASP investigators arrived at the park and interviewed a person at the park who said they saw someone get into a black sedan with blood on his face and drive away onto State Highway 170. A second witness said the black sedan was a Kia Stinger.
On July 28, an autopsy was performed on the two victims’ bodies, and preliminary findings showed both victims died in a homicide by stabbing wounds.
On July 30, police located the suspect’s vehicle at Lupita’s Beauty Salon in Springdale around 4:58 p.m.
Investigators walked into the barber shop and asked about the vehicle in the parking lot. A man who was receiving a haircut, later identified as McGann, said he owned the vehicle.
The report said investigators noted that while speaking with McGann, they saw cuts on his hands. McGann was then detained, and investigators entered his vehicle with his consent to get his ID.
Once investigators got into McGann’s vehicle, they found “a substance appearing to be blood” inside the vehicle.
McGann’s vehicle was then seized and taken to Arkansas State Police Troop L Headquarters in Lowell.
McGann was taken to ASP’s headquarters to be interviewed, and he made statements indicating he had committed two homicides.
Authorities in two states have looked into possible connections between McGann and other unsolved murder cases.
Vermont State Police said on Aug. 7 that the department found “no known link” between McGann and an unsolved homicide case involving Honoree Fleming or Vermont in general.
Authorities in Wisconsin are also reviewing possible connections between a 2020 unsolved stabbing at Devil’s Lake State Park and Devil’s Den State Park double homicide.