Prosecution Rests In Griffin Double-Murder Trial
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Prosecutors wrapped up their case against Andrew Isaac Griffin on Tuesday morning in Griffin’s double-murder trial in Belmont County.
Griffin is accused of killing his Salsa Joe’s business partner Thomas Strussion and Strussion’s wife Angela Strussion and setting fire to their Trails End Drive home near Belmont on September, 21, 2021.
The final prosecution witness was Belmont County Chief Det. Ryan Allar, who led the investigation against Griffin.
On Monday, Griffin’s former best friend Brett Cole testified that Griffin murdered his Salsa Joe’s business partner Thomas Strussion and Strussion’s wife Angela because Griffin claimed Thomas Strussion tried to put a hit out on him. Cole said that he helped purchase the motorcycle Griffin allegedly drove to Belmont County to murder the couple.
Allar testified Tuesday about questioning Cole in 2024 concerning his involvement in purchasing the motorcycle.
He said that once Cole agreed to cooperate, he came to find that Cole knew details about the Strussions’ murder that were not made public or even told to the grieving families.
Allar said that during the interview, Cole said that Thomas Strussion did not die right away.
"He was shot, a period of time went by, then he was killed. That is consistent with what we heard from Brett Cole, and that is a detail that, of course, we did not release to the public or even to the victims’ families," Allar said. "Brett Cole advised me that as he was trying to talk the defendant out of going to kill the Strussions, but the defendant was very insistent. He had to go right now because Tom and Angela were planning to permanently move to Florida, and he had to kill Tom before that happened.
“And from our investigation, it was common knowledge, somewhat, that Tom and Angela were going on a short trip to Florida for Angela’s 50th birthday,” Allar said. “Very few people knew about the permanent plan to go to Florida."
The defense will have the opportunity to present its case this afternoon.