A trial date was set Tuesday by Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Berhalter for the defendant charged with the aggravated murders of Thomas and Angela Strussion.
The capital murder trial for Oklahoma native Andrew Griffin will begin on March 2, 2026.
Griffin was arrested in February and charged in March with 12 counts of aggravated murder, a count of aggravated burglary, and a count of aggravated arson. The 33-year-old was extradited from Hilo, Hawaii, on March 14, and he’s been jailed in the county jail ever since.
Griffin could face the death penalty if convicted.
On July 1, Berhalter rescheduled a deposition of a state witness and the pretrial hearing and, according to a report in the Martins Ferry Times Leader, the Judge asked Griffin’s attorney to review three potential questionnaires that could be used during jury selection and him to have file a notice prior before today that states the name of those who will be trying the case on behalf of the Shamansky law firm.
Any motions filed by the defense and by Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan will be considered during the hearing, and Flanagan expects Judge Berhalter will suggest a start date for the highly anticipated capital murder trial against Griffin. The husband and wife were found deceased inside their Trail End Road home after a fire had been reported by a neighbor on Sept. 21, 2021, and Griffin is the alleged killer.
Chief Det. Ryan Allar and Det.-Sergeant Jordan Blumling investigated the double homicide for more than three years before arresting Griffin inside a Home Depot in Hilo. The defendant was with his younger brother, Zach, at the time local law enforcement served and arrested him, and he was incarcerated in the city’s jail until his extradition was granted in mid-March.
Jail Administrator Chris Baker, Detective Sgt. Jason Schwarck, and Deputy Tristan Thomas were dispatched to the Hawaiian city to escort Griffin back to Belmont County in mid-March.
One person connected to the Strussion murders already has been tried and convicted, and Oklahoma native Dalton Ray was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for lying to Belmont County detectives while they were investigating the murders. Detectives explained the Ray’s trial how they traveled from Ohio to Oklahoma to interview him in July 2024 regarding any information that he may have involving the deaths of the Strussions.
Ray, a 33-year-old native of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, lied, and following the first interview, Allar and Blumling determined he gave them untruthful information. Detectives again traveled to Oklahoma to interview Ray for a second time, and the evidence during trial proved his dishonesty continued.
The pretrial hearing will take place inside the Belmont County Courthouse in St. Clairsville.
Griffin and the Strussions were business partners in the Salsa Joe’s Smokehouse location in Elm Grove, and Griffin moved to the area in the Fall of 2020.
