Dalton Ray of Oklahoma lied, according to Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan, and not once but twice to detectives Ryan Allar and Jordan Blumling in 2024 when claiming he did not know defendant Andrew Griffin or anything about the 2021 deaths of Angela and Thomas Strussion.
Griffin, once a business partner of Thomas Strussion, has been charged with the murders and has been lodged in the Belmont County Jail since mid-March. If found guilty of all charges, Griffin could face Ohio’s death penalty.
Assistant Prosecutor Joe Vavra told the local media last week that Ray “ran from the officers and then led them on a high-speed chase in the state of Oklahoma” before he was arrested. Flanagan also said he was not releasing the nature of Ray’s dishonesty because, according to The Intelligencer, the prosecutor doesn’t want to “prejudice future jurors in the next trial as it relates to the homicides of the Strussions.”
Ray, who was extradited to Belmont County from Texas months ago, is scheduled in front of Judge Chris Berhalter for June 24, 2025, for sentencing for a third-degree felony obstructing justice. He’s now facing a max sentence of three years in prison.
That’s what the public knows now following the surprising and unexpected trial and his conviction two weeks ago.
“I can’t tell you how we knew Ray lied to our detectives, or what he lied about, because it’s part of the case, but I can tell the public not to lie to my detectives or deputies. We’ll find out,” said Sheriff James Zusack said. “It was discovered that Ray wasn’t tell the truth, so he was charged and convicted and sentencing will take place soon.
“It is part of the double homicide case,” he said. “We’ll be working that case until it goes to trial. There’s a lot of prep that takes place between the prosecutor’s office and our detectives so everyone can 100 percent positive that all the ‘i’s’ are dotted and all the ‘t’s’ are crossed.”
Zusack was Chief Deputy for former sheriff Dave Lucas when the Strussions were murdered inside their home on Sept. 21, 2021, and on countless occasions he insisted to inquiring media members that the investigation had not turned cold.
“I’m extremely proud of Ryan and Jordan because they never quit working the case. I would tell the media the case was getting worked on every day and I bet sometimes they didn’t believe me, but it was the truth every time,” the sheriff said. “Just knowing there’s closure coming for everyone at some point means a lot to us and to the families.
“I know it took three and a half years for charges to be filed against (Andrew) Griffin, but I believed we would get where we are today. I honestly did,” Zusack said. “Ryan and Jordan love being detectives; they have a passion for it. They love it.”
Trial of the Century?
Judge Berhalter has scheduled Griffin’s capital murder trial to begin on July 15th, but Ohio Public Defender Kirk McVay advised the court he doubted the defense would be ready by that date. A motion for continuance, according to court records, has not yet been filed.
Allar and Blumling arrested Griffin inside a Home Depot in Hilo, Hawaii, on February 18th, just a few days after a 14-count indictment was returned by a Belmont County Grand Jury. The suspect was extradited to Belmont County about a month later and has appeared at three hearings since. Griffin moved to East Ohio in Fall 2020 after partnering with Strussion on a Salsa Joe’s location in the Elm Grove area, and the restaurant opened in late May 2021.
Griffin had left the area, though, several weeks before the Strussions were murdered, and Allar, Blumling, and Zusack have been dedicated to solving the case ever since.
“I am looking forward to the end of the case and for the justice, but I also know that just because this double homicide case end doesn’t mean something else will come along. I consider us lucky that we haven’t had another complex case come along while these guys have been working the Strussion case,” Zusack explained. “Just because on goes away doesn’t mean the next big case isn’t coming.
“The double homicide has received a lot of attention because of the popularity of the restaurants and of the victims not just in Belmont County but in the whole area,” he said. “They know a lot of people in the area, and they want justice. I’m confident they’ll get it soon.”
The question is, when?
“I know the conviction (of Dalton Ray) caught people by surprise, but there are a lot of details to this case that’s going to surprise people. It’s a very complex case, and there will be more surprises,” Zusack said. “All of those facts will come out during the trial. When the trial happens is 100 percent up to (Belmont County) Judge (Chris) Berhalter.
“No matter when, I know our guys will be ready,” the sheriff said. “I’m very, very confident in their work.”
