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Two Arrested On Extortion Charges In Connection With Belmont Double Murder

Anthony Michael Dibiacco

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Two Bellaire residents are in jail charged with extortion based on evidence uncovered in the investigation of a double murder.

Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas announced Monday morning that Anthony Michael Dibacco and Miana Maylyn Smith are behind bars after being linked to a plot to extort Thomas Strussion. Strussion and his wife, Angela, were found dead inside their Belmont-area home on Tuesday morning after a structure fire was reported there.

Dibacco and Smith were arrested after a search warrant was served at a Guernsey Street address in Bellaire. Detectives are still working to determine if the blackmail plot is tied to the Strussions’ deaths, the sheriff said.

Dibacco and Smith are being held without bond at the Belmont County Jail. Information on the case is being forwarded to the prosecutor’s office to determine if additional charges will be filed.

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