(NewsNation) — Imagine one day working in a salon and not realizing you’re cutting the hair of a murder suspect. That’s what happened to Adriana Ruiz Avalos.
Avalos was giving Andrew James McGann a haircut on Wednesday when police walked into the salon and arrested him for allegedly killing a married couple last weekend in Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas.
McGann had evaded capture for five days after allegedly stabbing the couple to death as they hiked with their daughters, ages 7 and 9.
“He looked soulless,” Avalos told “Banfield” on Thursday when asked what he looked like when he came in and asked for a haircut.
“He didn’t look right,” she said. “As I was examining him, his hair, his scalp looked very dry and matted.”
Hairdresser had ‘eerie feeling’ about McGann
Avalos had never seen McGann before but she said his presence gave her a weird feeling.
“As soon as I saw him, as I was telling him to come into my chair, I had an eerie feeling about him,” she said.
She specifically noticed McGann’s eyes, saying, “They were very sunken.”
Before beginning the haircut, Avalos’ aunt, who also works at the salon, had asked McGann to sign his name, but was met with a blank stare.
“Something kind of didn’t feel right,” said Avalos, based on her aunt’s reaction.
And when Avalos sat him down and asked him what kind of hair cut he wanted, he was adamant that he “wanted nothing cut from the top” of his head so his eyes would remain covered.
McGann showed no emotion during arrest
Avalos said as police swooped in on McGann, he didn’t seem to acknowledge the situation he was facing.
When a detective came into the salon, “he had his head down the whole time,” Avalos said. “And he really didn’t say anything until they were like, ‘I believe it’s your car.'”
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Special agents with the Arkansas State Police have arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, in connection to a double homicide at Devil’s Den State Park on July 26, 2025. (Courtesy) -
Picture of suspect’s back in Devil’s Den State Park killings. (COURTESY) -
Sketch of the suspect in Devil’s Den State Park killings. (COURTESY) -
Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead on a walking trail at Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas. (Source: GoFundMe) -
A couple was killed while hikiung at Devil’s Den State Park. (KNWA)
Trying to wrap her head around the whole situation, Avalos said it was super upsetting.
“It does take a toll on someone. I’m just overwhelmed. I’m saddened because two little girls lost their parents. And it’s … a soulless act by Andrew. It’s unimaginable.”
McGann was charged with two counts of capital murder for Clinton and Cristen Brink’s deaths after his arrest. He is being held without bond at the Washington County jail.