Arrested for double homicide at Devil’s Den, James Andrew McGann was also allegedly involved in inappropriate behavior with young girls he taught in the school. Otherwise, he has been described as a standoffish teacher at the elementary school and was not very interested in teaching.
But he showed favoritism towards the girl students in the class. Earlier, McGann had a habit of moving to different places and starting his teaching job to avoid showing any red flags.
The 28-year-old Devil’s Den killer stabbed Cristen and Clinton Brink while they were on a hike with their two daughters at Arkansas park. He did not know them but had moved to the Oklahoma area to work as a local teacher.
He stabbed them to death in front of the kids. Cristen, although brutally stabbed, got the girls to safety and went back to help her husband. They could only save their 7 and 9-year-old girls but succumbed to their stabbing injuries.
A hiker discovered the girls and called for help, but it was too late for them. A manhunt for the accused lasted four days, and he was arrested at a hair salon, wanting to change his look with a haircut. He was arrested when he sat down on the salon’s chair and he accepted his crimes.
“They died heroes protecting their daughters.”
But you know how the killer, Andrew McGann, was found?
Because of you! Tips and information the public called in left Directly led to his apprehension!
Please always continue to circulate suspect information, car descriptions,… pic.twitter.com/MjTUsz0RND
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) August 2, 2025
After his arrest, claims about his disturbing behavior with young girls at the Texas and Oklahoma schools are coming forward. He was working at the Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, from 2022 to 2023.
Parents are now revealing that he behaved inappropriately with young girls, while other parents are complaining that they have been left in the dark about his true nature. He would ask girls to stay in the class during recess, ask them to sit on his lap, and tickle them.
In 2023, he joined Lewisville Independent School District, and the same behavior continued. The schools will be conducting an internal investigation of the matter. One of the teacher’s assistants revealed that he always hung out with girls more than boys in school.
I joined @lauraingle on NewsNation’s “Banfield” to dive into how accused Devil’s Den killer Andrew McGann allegedly moved from school district to district, despite multiple red flags and troubling accusations along the way. How did the system fail so badly that a teacher with a… pic.twitter.com/OXAl3oYtEu
— Tony Brueski (@tonybpod) August 2, 2025
But he was unaware of his earlier behavior. The assistant claimed that he would never interact with the parents and would always leave. They used to leave the school together but did not talk much. At times, he would ignore questions directed towards him.
One of the kids’ parents, Gloria Balsel states that they were shocked by the news and there was no vetting them hiring them. Now he has committed murder which is concerning what he was capable of all this time.
The parents were not informed about his previous improper behavior. According to their son, the teacher’s behavior was odd, he was nice to some and did not care about others.
