Man arrested in Hawaii is suspect in killings of former North Texas restaurant owner, wife
A 32-year-old murder suspect from Ohio was arrested in Hawaii more than three years after the killings of a former North Texas restaurant owner and his wife, Hawaiian officials said on Feb. 28.
The victims, Tom and Angela Strussion, were killed in a house fire on Sep. 21, 2021, in Belmont, Ohio, officials with the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
The suspect, Andrew Griffin, will be extradited back to Ohio from Hawaii to face murder charges, a judge ruled in an extradition hearing on Friday.
Griffin and Tom Strussion were business partners in Salsa Joe’s restaurant in Elm Grove, Ohio, which opened in May 2021, The (Martins Ferry) Times Leader newspaper reported.
Tom Strussion’s culinary ventures in North Texas included a barbecue catering business in Fort Worth, a restaurant in Weatherford and a location of his Tex-Mex restaurant, Salsa Joe’s, in Arlington. He sold the Arlington restaurant when he moved back to Ohio, friends said.
Two other Ohio residents were arrested in connection with an extortion plot against the Strussions that was uncovered while authorities investigated the double homicide, according to the Times Leader.
At the time, authorities were unsure whether the blackmail plot was connected to the homicides, the Times Leader reported.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 3:13 PM.
