Story and Video: Witnesses Say Griffin Admitted To Killing Two People
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - A pair of witnesses Wednesday testified in Andrew Isaac Griffin’s double-murder trial that he admitted to them he had killed two people during day three of Griffin's double homicide trial.
Andrew Griffin’s ex-wife Stacey Griffin and his life-long family friend Arthur Cole testified Wednesday they both heard Griffin say he killed two people. Griffin is accused of killing his Salsa Joe’s business partner Thomas Strussion and Strussion’s wife Angela, as well as setting fire to their Trails End Drive home near Belmont in September 2021.
Stacey Griffin took the stand and said Griffin once threatened to make her his third victim when the marriage was going south. She said Andrew Griffin told her he’d know who to blame if word got out he murdered the Strussions.
"I could disappear whether or not he was in jail," Stacey Griffin recalls Andrew Griffin saying to her.
The pair separated in April 2023 when Stacey Griffin filed for divorce but finalized their divorce in 2025.
Belmont County Assistant Prosecutor Joe Vavra asked her if she had met the Strussions. Her and Andrew Griffin stayed at the Strussions’ Trails End Drive home in spring 2021.
Stacey Griffin said she came up with Andrew Griffin from their home in Oklahoma, as Andrew Griffin and Thomas Strussion met to discuss Andrew Griffin's involvement in Salsa Joe's.
Andrew Griffin's lawyer Samuel H. Shamansky asked her if, following the events of September 2021, she became aware of Griffin being unfaithful in the marriage. During day two of the trial it was mentioned Thomas Strussion's sister Lisa Balog had relations with Griffin from May to June 2021.
Stacey Griffin replied she was unaware of Griffin cheating.
"At no time during your marriage did you have any suspicion whatsoever that your husband was being unfaithful?" Shamansky asked.
She replied she, again, did not.
Shamansky then pivoted by confirming the Griffins separated in 2023.
"Prior to that time, you have no inkling that your husband has been unfaithful, correct? That’s what you’re telling the jury?" Shamansky asked.
Stacey Griffin confirmed once more she was unaware of Griffin's infidelity.
Vavra then played a pre-recorded deposition from Arthur Cole, who was said to be like a surrogate grandfather to Griffin throughout his entire life. Cole said one time while he was driving around with Andrew Griffin, he had some alcohol before receiving a phone call. Cole claims Andrew Griffin answered the call.
"Now I’m gonna tell you he was about half or two-thirds drunk, but Andrew said, 'Well, I had to go get my money, and I killed two people,” Cole said. "Now he didn’t say who, what, where, or when. That’s just what he said."
He added although he is unsure who the call was with, he suspected it was his grandson Brett Cole, who was Andrew Griffin’s former life-long best friend. Brett Cole is also slated to testify against Andrew Griffin.
Arthur Cole said the call changed how he saw Andrew Griffin.
"If I'm in the car with somebody like I was there, and they say 'I had to kill two people', I want to get away from them," Cole said.
He added Griffin changed once he returned from the Ohio Valley in 2021.
"He was a nice man. In my opinion, [Griffin was] just as good of a man that you’d ever want to meet," Cole said.
But once Andrew Griffin had returned from the Ohio Valley, he turned "from daylight to dark."
"He turned out just like his daddy. Acts like him, drinks like him, uses drugs like him. He’s just like his daddy, and he can tell you what his daddy’s like," Cole said.
After hearing the call, Arthur Cole said he only had one more interaction with Andrew Griffin.
Cole said Griffin came to his house a few days later, shook his hand and said “Papa, you’ll probably not see me no more,” then left.
Belmont County Coroner Amanda Fisher and Licking County Deputy Coroner Charles Jeffrey Lee also testified detailing the autopsy of Thomas and Angela Strussion.
Fisher was on the scene the day of the murders and was the person who discovered the couple did not die from a fire.
"When I first arrived on scene, something that was unusual for me investigating a death was the amount of blood that was present for a fire. Typically, when we have a fire death, we don’t see a large amount of blood. Also, the bodies are not as well preserved usually with a fire death," Fisher said. "Also, when I looked inside the home, you could see blood on the floor of what I was told was the living room."
She added while examining the bodies on the scene, she discovered wounds consistent with a bullet hole.
Lee performed both Strussion’s autopsy. He said both Thomas and Angela had three gunshot wounds to the head. Lee said both victims were dead before the fire started.
He said while performing both autopsies, Lee discovered neither Thomas or Angela inhaled any smoke from the fire.
While she ruled out a specific time of death, Fisher said she believes the couple died between 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 to 7 a.m. on Sept. 21.
Day four of Andrew Griffin’s trial will begin Thursday at 9 a.m. in Belmont County Common Pleas Court.