Jury selected for Belmont County double homicide trial
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Jury selection is complete for Andrew Isaac Griffin’s trial on Monday.
Griffin is accused of the double homicide of his Salsa Joe's Restaurant business partner, Thomas Strussion, and his wife, Angela Strussion. The couple were murdered in their Trails End Drive home near Belmont in 2021, along with their dogs.
Strussion was Griffin's former business partner in the Elm Grove location of the Salsa Joe’s restaurant, which opened in May 2021 — just five months prior to the Strussions’ deaths. Strussion also owned and operated a Salsa Joe’s location along National Road east of Morristown, not far from his Belmont-area home.
Belmont College's Dowler Hall saw 160 Belmont County residents pooled to find the most qualified of the group to sit on the jury for Griffin's trial.
The 160 residents were broken into two groups, with the first group of 80 residents appearing in front of Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter at 9 a.m.
At 1:30 p.m., the second group made their way to Dowler Hall.
After half an hour, Berhalter determined the first group of potential jurors met the requirements to sit on the jury.
Griffin appeared at the jury selection along with his attorneys Samuel H. Shamansky and Kate Clark of the Samuel H. Shamansky Law Office.
He appeared clean shaven, which is a drastic contrast compared to the beard and handle bar mustache he's been seen sporting since his arrest.
Griffin was arrested in Hawaii on Feb. 18 2025 by the Hawaii Police Department in cooperation with Belmont County Sheriff’s Office Chief Detective Ryan Allar and Detective Sgt. Jordan Bluling on an extradition warrant.
Jury selection took over seven hours.
Jurors 15, 20, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30, 42, 49, 50, 55, and 68 were the residents chosen to be jurors in the upcoming trial.
Jurors 82 and 86 were selected to be alternative jurors.
Following the jury being selected, Berhalter read them the court's instructions for the trial.
"It is very important that you be fair and attentive throughout this trial. Do not discuss the case among yourselves or anyone else, and do not permit anyone else to discuss it with you or in your presence," Berhalter said. "Do not form or express any opinion on the case until it is finally submitted to you in its entirety. Additionally, each of you may not discuss this case among yourselves until it’s finally submitted to you. You will receive the opening statements, the evidence, the law from the court, and the arguments of counsel. It would be unfair to discuss the case among yourselves before you receive everything necessary to form an informed decision."
He then instructed the jurors not to discuss the case with any family and friends.
Berhalter explained they may initially think it doesn’t make sense to not go home and discuss what they've heard after each day of the trial.
"But think about it, you’re sharing what you saw during the day. You’re getting an opinion from someone based upon that but they didn’t sit in that courtroom. They didn’t see the witnesses so you could get an impression or information from someone who wasn’t here," Berhalter said. "That’s why you’re instructed that you can’t discuss this with family, friends, loved ones. Once the trial is over, that prescription is gone. You are free to discuss the case with anyone you choose."
He added the jurors may not post anything about the case on the internet or any electronic device including blogs, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others.
"Any discussion, if discovered, could lead to a mistrial and would severely compromise the party’s right to a fair trial," Berhalter said.
He added the jurors should not investigate or attempt to obtain any additional information about the case outside of the courtroom.
Berhalter then instructed the jurors not to consume any news media or any type of outside information on the subject of the trial.
"Such reports may be incomplete and are sometimes inaccurate. You may only consider and decide this case upon the evidence received at trial. If you should acquire any information from an outside source, you must report it," Berhalter said.
He added that the trial is expected to last eight week days and will begin Monday in his court at 8:30 a.m.