Devil's Den murders row: Former teacher a 'monster'; tickled little girls and gave 'lot of special treatment'

Time of India

a day ago

A former primary school teacher accused of brutally murdering a married couple in front of their two daughters at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas had previously displayed alarming behaviour towards young girls at a school in Texas, a concerned parent has claimed.
Andrew James McGann, 28, is accused of stabbing Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, to death on Saturday, while their daughters, aged 9 and 7, fled the scene unharmed.
Authorities said McGann later confessed to the killing and was charged with capital murder following a five-day manhunt.
In an interview with New York Post on Friday, Zacharri Polyak, whose son attended Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, when McGann was a teacher there, alleged deeply troubling past behaviour.
'This monster was around our children,' he said. Polyak recalled that McGann once put a little girl on his lap and said 'things like, 'I wish I could date you, I wish you could be my girlfriend,' just really nasty like grooming behavior.'
He also claimed McGann showed 'a lot of special treatment to girls in particular,' adding, 'He was giving them candy, bringing them Sonic drinks, playing tag with them, tickling them, just really suspect behavior.'
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Lewisville Independent school district, which oversees Donald Elementary, told New York Post that McGann was placed on administrative leave during the 2022–2023 academic year 'following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgement, and student favoritism.'
However, the district said an internal investigation 'found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students.' McGann resigned in May 2023.
Polyak criticised the school's response, 'It should have been an immediate firing with reports to Child Protective Services,' he said.
Another parent, Sierra Marcum, whose son was in McGann's fourth-grade class, described him as distant and disengaged. '[He was] pretty cold. You could ask him a question, and he would give you a one-word response,' she told WFAA.
'Overall, just pretty disinterested in his students.'
Marcum said she raised concerns with the school after her son came home visibly upset. 'Eventually, he told me that he and some other classmates had noticed that Mr. McGann was very touchy and showed a lot of favoritism to certain girls in the class,' she said. 'I guess [the murder allegations] did surprise me, because while I thought he was off, I never thought he was violent.'
McGann was later hired for the 2023–2024 school year at Spring Creek Elementary in Oklahoma.
The district said McGann passed all legally mandated national background checks, and there had been no disciplinary issues during his time there.
He had also secured a job at Springdale Public Schools in Arkansas, where he was due to start teaching in a week. Superintendent Jared Cleveland confirmed McGann's hiring, but stressed that he 'has not at any time come into contact with Springdale students or the families we serve,' according to 5 News.
The shocking murders took place on a hiking trail in the Arkansas state park. Authorities say McGann ambushed the Brink couple, stabbing them to death while their daughters escaped and raised the alarm. He was eventually located and arrested mid-haircut at a local barbershop.
McGann appeared in court on Friday (local time) and was ordered to be held without bail. Investigators have not yet established a motive for the killings.