Just days after a shocking double homicide at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas, the man accused of fatally stabbing a couple in front of their young daughters was arrested — mid-haircut. The hairstylist who unknowingly served him says she had a chilling feeling from the moment he walked in.
“As soon as I saw him, as I was telling him to come into my chair, I had an eerie feeling about him,” Adriana Ruiz Avalos told NewsNation, speaking about the suspect, Andrew James McGann.
Before the haircut began, Ruiz Avalos’ aunt, who also works at the salon, asked McGann to write down his name. Instead, he reportedly just stared back in silence.
“Something kind of didn’t feel right,” she recalled, describing her aunt’s reaction to the unsettling moment.
“He looked soulless. He didn’t look right,” Ruiz Avalos added, noting his “very sunken in” eyes and “very dry and matted” hair.
She also described McGann’s demeanor when police arrived: “He had his head down the whole time. He really didn’t say anything until they were like, ‘I believe it’s your car.’”
McGann, 26, had walked into Lupita’s Beauty Salon in Springdale, Arkansas, on July 30 — nearly five days after authorities say he fatally stabbed Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41. The couple had been hiking with their daughters, ages 7 and 9, at the time of the attack.
According to Ruiz Avalos, McGann still had a hairdressing cape around his neck when officers took him into custody.
The Brinks’ daughters survived and fled for help, providing key descriptions that led investigators to McGann. Authorities were able to connect a black Kia Stinger seen near the park, as well as DNA evidence, to the suspect after surveillance footage placed him at the scene.
McGann was booked into the Washington County Jail later that same day. Police have not revealed a motive, and during a press conference, they described the attack as apparently random. At his Friday morning court appearance, McGann did not enter a plea and is currently being held without bond.
Now left to process the surreal encounter, Ruiz Avalos said the experience has left a deep emotional mark.
“It does take a toll on someone. I’m just overwhelmed. I’m saddened because two little girls lost their parents,” she said. “And it’s … a soulless act by Andrew. It’s unimaginable.”
