ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan announced the conviction of Dalton Ray for Obstructing Justice after a jury trial on June 3, 2025. Flanagan said Ray was convicted of lying to investigators related to the double homicide case involving Angela and Tom Strussion.

According to Flanagan, the evidence at trial showed that detectives from Ohio travelled to Oklahoma to interview Ray in July 2024 regarding any information that he may have involving the deaths of the Strussions. After the first interview, detectives from Belmont County were able to determine that untruthful information was given to them by Ray. Detectives again traveled to Oklahoma to interview Ray for a second time. The testimony at trial showed that Ray again provided false statements to the detectives during the second interview but this time detectives confronted Ray with evidence contradicting his statements.

Detectives, knowing Ray was not being truthful, secured an arrest warrant to bring Ray back to Ohio. Ray, who was already on probation from a Texas conviction, then fled from his probation but was eventually apprehended, according to Flanagan. The prosecutor said that his office worked with the Texas authorities to return Ray to Belmont County after he finished his jail sentence in Texas for violating his Texas probation. “As soon as he was able to be extradited back to Ohio, we brought him back and began our prosecution. And while his untruthful statements were made in Oklahoma, they were made to our detectives who were investigating homicides that occurred in this county. That provided us jurisdiction to move forward in Belmont County, and we did,” said Flanagan.

Flanagan said that Joe Vavra tried the case in conjunction with the detectives from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office. “The detectives were relentless in their pursuit for the truth as it relates to this homicide investigation. That is why they focused on bringing Ray back to Ohio. And once again, Joe did a masterful job for our office, as he always does, presenting the case to the jury,” said Flanagan.

While there is so much more information associated with the prosecution of Ray, much of it can’t be discussed, according to Flanagan, so as to not prejudice future jurors in the next trial as it relates to the homicides of the Strussions.

Flanagan added that sentencing for Ray is scheduled in front of Judge Chris Berhalter for June 24, 2025. The prosecutor said that with Ray’s criminal history and the level of his deception in such a serious case, his office believes that nothing short of the highest possible sentence is appropriate.