ANDREW ISAAC GRIFFIN

A trial date has been set for Andrew Isaac Griffin, accused of the double homicide of Thomas and Angela Strussion in their Trails End Drive home near Belmont in 2021.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter set a date of March 2, 2026. Berhalter also told Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan and Griffin’s attorney Samuel H. Shamansky to submit all motions deemed necessary to the case that are not fact based to the case be filed by the end of September. As all fact based motions to the case are to be filed by the end of November.

Berhalter then asked Shamansky where he is with what experts he will be using for the trial.

Shamansky replied that he’s spoken to one of the usual experts in the death penalty mitigation arena, and understands the court’s mindfulness and is concerned about his attention to that fact of the case.

“I’m not sure that we’re going to use the gentleman with whom we’ve already spoken to. I don’t know enough about the point of the approach that we’re going to take in that regard, through the digital data,” Shamansky said. “We are focused on trying to prevail in the case. I also understand the need for being able to gather school records, psychological records, etc. So I can assure you that we’ll have that base covered, and it’s also to some degree, a matter of resources.”

He added that if his focus ends up being on the psychological welfare and condition of Griffin that he will be hiring a forensic psychologist.

“I’m on top of that, I can assure you, but I haven’t committed to any path given where we are in the case so far,” Shamansky said.

The courtroom was cleared and closed following the pretrial hearing for a deposition in the case, and Shamansky requested that the deposition transcript be sealed. Shamansky said a witness in the case is ill and may not be available later. Berhalter granted the request after Flanagan said he had no problem with it.

The next pre-trial hearing in the case will be on Aug. 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Belmont County Common Pleas Court.