Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack is releasing the following statement regarding the arrest of Andrew Issac Griffin.
Sheriff Zusack will be releasing limited information at this time. Members of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office will not be able to answer any questions directly related to this case; as the case progresses through the courts, more information will be made available to the public. Due to the complexity of this investigation, we continue to ask the community for patience and understanding.
On September 21, 2021, the bodies of Thomas and Angela Strussion, along with their pets, were discovered after a fire had been reported at their home on Trails End Drive in Belmont, Ohio. Later, Thomas and Angela’s deaths were ruled as homicides.
Following a comprehensive criminal investigation by the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued from Belmont County Court – Western Division, and as a result, Andrew Issac Griffin, age 32 from Whitesboro, Oklahoma, was arrested in a joint operation with Detectives from Belmont County Sheriff’s Office and the Hawaii Police Department in Hilo, Hawaii. Currently, Mr. Griffin is incarcerated in Hawaii, with procedures taking place to extradite Griffin to Belmont County, Ohio.
On February 28, 2025, the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office presented the case against Andrew Griffin to the Belmont County Grand Jury. As a result, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Mr. Griffin with various counts of Aggravated Murder.
As outlined above, this indictment comes after a three and a half year investigation into the murders of Thomas and Angela Strussion. Sheriff Zusack and the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office would like to recognize the following people and agencies that provided very valuable assistance in this case:
- The Belmont County Coroner’s Office
- The Belmont County Commissioners
- The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation
- The Ohio State Fire Marshalls Office
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- FBI Special Agent Bryan Lacy
- FBI Special Agent Rachel Butler
- FBI Analyst Brian Warcholak
- LeFlore County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office
- LeFlore County Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office
- The Cold Case Foundation – Greg Cooper -Dean Jackson
- The Cold Case Investigative Research Institute – Sheryl McCollum
- McCurtain County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office
- Detective John Mowrer
- Choctaw County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office
- Hugo Oklahoma Police Department
- Detective Bob White
- Hawaii (Hawai’i) County Police Department
- Detective Kimo Keliipaakaua
- Sheriff David M Lucas (Ret.)
During this investigation, Belmont County detectives conducted extensive interviews with witnesses nationwide and pursued leads in Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and Oklahoma. Presently, Belmont County detectives and FBI Agents are pursuing witness interviews in Oklahoma.
Sheriff Zusack strongly encourages the public to provide any information pertinent to this investigation. Detectives can be reached at any time by contacting the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office at (740) 695-7933 or the tip line for Crime Stoppers of the Upper Ohio Valley at (877) TIPS4US.
