An American man who allegedly faked his own death to avoid rape charges was wheeled into court in a wheelchair after being extradited from Scotland.
Nicholas Rossi, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian and his alleged alias Arthur Knight, faces two rape charges dating back to 2008, one of which is being tried in a Utah court in a trial that began this week.
Prosecutors allege Rossi raped a 26-year-old ex-girlfriend in Salt Lake County in 2008. He is accused of raping another 21-year-old woman in Ohio that same year and is suspected of multiple other attacks.
His court appearance came as a Utah judge ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to charge Rossi with first-degree rape, just days after another Utah judge reached the same conclusion on the second rape charge.
Rossi made headlines after he was arrested in Scotland in December 2021 while being treated for Covid-19 under the name Arthur Knight. He was exposed when his fingerprints matched those of Rossi, who was wanted by police for multiple crimes but had been reported dead.
Alleged rapist Nicholas Rossi was arraigned in court Tuesday to face a 2008 rape charge in Utah
Rossi made headlines in 2021 when he was accused of faking his own death the previous year to escape rape charges, sparking a legal battle that led to his extradition from Scotland in 2023 (pictured that year)
Rossi continued to maintain that his arrest was a case of mistaken identity, as he was captured in 2021.
But his lawyers finally abandoned that fiction on August 22, when the first order was issued for him to stand trial this month.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Rossi was wheeled into the courtroom wearing blue prison jumpsuit, handcuffs and an oxygen mask.
The charges in the case stem from an alleged 2008 sexual assault in Utah of a 21-year-old woman. Prosecutors said Rossi’s DNA matched an untested sexual assault kit that was not tested until 2018.
Orem Police Lt. Karalee Johnson testified during Tuesday’s hearing that the kit retest was a match for Rossi, as she identified Rossie in court as the suspect wearing the oxygen mask, KSL reports.
Rossi’s alleged victim did not testify, but she was represented by a victim advocate who testified about the woman’s statement presented to the judge.
Prosecutors allege Rossi raped a 26-year-old ex-girlfriend in Salt Lake County in 2008. He is accused of raping another 21-year-old woman in Ohio that same year.
The alleged serial rapist has been held in Utah since his extradition from Scotland. But Rossi’s attorney said Tuesday she plans to call witnesses to argue that he should no longer be held in the Utah County Jail.
Although Rossi’s bail hearing is scheduled for October 16, he was also ordered to stand trial on August 22 on a separate charge of first-degree rape, related to an alleged 2008 assault in Salt Lake City.
After the alleged attacks in Utah, Rossi moved to Rhode Island, where he grew up in the state’s foster care system, according to prosecutors.
In 2020, reports emerged that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had died. However, authorities quickly questioned the legality of his death, as no death certificate could be found.
In July 2020, he was reportedly linked to a 2008 rape in Utah, which eventually led to his discovery in Scotland.
Mr Rossi also goes by the aliases Nick Alahverdian, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown and Arthur Brown. He was photographed in 2011 campaigning against the state welfare system
It is believed that Rossi met his wife Miranda Knight in Bristol in 2019, under the name Arthur Brown, and married her in early 2020, taking the name Arthur Knight.
Shortly afterwards they moved to Glasgow, but in 2021 Rossi became so ill with Covid that he had to be admitted to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
He caused confusion during his first court appearance in the US in January when he spoke with a British accent throughout the hearing and wore an oxygen mask, making it difficult to understand what he was saying.
Rossie is scheduled to appear in the Salt Lake County bail hearing on October 16, the day before his Utah County bail hearing.
