Police in Wisconsin have reopened a 2020 murder investigation to see whether fatal stabbings in two different state parks in two different states could have a common link
Andrew James McGann, 28, was arrested last month in connection with the July 26 stabbing deaths of Clinton and Cristen Brink at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas, according to KNWA-TV.
In light of the arrest, officials in Sauk County, Wisconsin, are taking a new look at the Oct. 14, 2020, stabbing death of John Schmutzer, 24, who was hiking in Devil’s Lake State Park when he was killed.
Elementary school teacher Andrew James McGann was arrested and charged with the fatal stabbing of a couple at Devil’s Den State Park. Everything about this is just demonic.#lawenforcement #news #arkansas #devilsdenhttps://t.co/AgaZajH9q9 pic.twitter.com/iyalkHfRT7
— Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr) August 3, 2025
DNA taken in 2020 ruled out several suspects, but no arrest was ever made.
Drew Bulin, a Sauk County Sheriff’s Office detective sergeant, said that after the Arkansas stabbing, police in Wisconsin and Arkansas were contacted by people who saw similarities in the two murders, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Arkansas authorities have been contacted to determine whether the evidence gathered in the Devil’s Den case might indicate whether McGann has any connection to the Devil’s Lake stabbing.
Wisconsin Police are investigating whether Devil’s Den suspect Andrew McGann is linked to the October 14, 2020, murder of John Schmutzer, a 24-year-old hiker stabbed to death on the Grottos Trail at Devil’s Lake State Park.
The attack, like the Arkansas case, was random. pic.twitter.com/TixJZhi60j
— Joseph Morris (@JosephMorrisYT) August 8, 2025
“We’ve been in contact with the state police down there and they shared some details with us and we’re just trying to take a look at it and determine if it’s a coincidence or maybe there’s something more to it,” Bulin said, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
“We’re just in the early stages of taking a look at what they have and, obviously they’re continuing to develop more information on the suspect down there and we’re not sure if it’s related yet,” he said.
Witnesses to the Arkansas stabbing indicated they saw a white male of medium build in dark clothing.
Witnesses to the Wisconsin stabbing reported that a black-clad white male, estimated to be about 5’10” to 6 feet tall, fled the scene of that crime, the Journal-Sentinel reported.
According to ABC, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar said McGann admitted to killing the couple in July.
Police said that McGann’s DNA matched DNA from blood that was recovered from the crime scene.
McGann, an elementary school teacher, had recently moved to Arkansas from Oklahoma.
According to KARK-TV, Vermont police had taken a look at McGann as a possible suspect in another murder in that state in 2023, but they later ruled out any connection to the death of Honoree Fleming.
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