Fugitive accused of rape, faking death appears in Utah court
- Nicholas Rossi is charged with the rape of a woman, 21, in Utah in 2008
- He was extradited from Scotland and appeared in Utah court this month
- Rossi denies allegations; claims he’s Arthur Knight Brown, an Irish orphan
In this image taken from video, alleged U.S. fugitive Nicholas Rossi speaks during a hearing livestreamed on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Salt Lake City. During the court appearance, he denied being a man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the country to Europe to avoid rape charges. (KSTU via AP, Pool)
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(NewsNation) — A man accused of faking his death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges in 2008 has been arrested and extradited from Scotland to Utah; however, the suspect alleges his is a case of mistaken identity.
Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with the rape of a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in 2008, prosecutors said. He wasn’t identified as a suspect until about a decade later due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.
Rossi, 36, was extradited from Scotland earlier this month. He identified himself Tuesday as Arthur Knight Brown and gave a birthdate in British English — listing the day first, followed by the month and year — that is different from Rossi’s, KSTU-TV reported.
He appeared from jail via video wearing an oxygen mask and did not enter a plea at the initial court appearance. Though it was difficult to understand at times and he had to lift the mask to be heard, Rossi called allegations that he wasn’t giving his true name “complete hearsay.”
Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Tamara Basuez said Rossi has not admitted his name or birthdate since he returned to Utah.
Rossi is jailed without the possibility of posting bail in the Orem case. The judge set a detention hearing for Jan. 26.
The judge said a lawyer would be appointed for Rossi. He said he has one, but that the attorney did not receive notice of Tuesday’s hearing.
Rossi appeared on “Dan Abrams Live” via Zoom in April 2023. Abrams confronted him about this claim that the DNA in this case is not accurate.
According to the BBC, authorities confirmed his identity in 2022.
Rossi, who grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island, made a name for himself there as a vocal critic of the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Four years ago, he told media in Rhode Island that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. An obituary published online claimed he died Feb. 29, 2020.
He used at least 10 different aliases over the years, prosecutors said.
Authorities said his run from the law ended when he was arrested in December 2021 after being recognized by someone at a Glasgow, Scotland, hospital while he was being treated for COVID-19. He insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had never set foot on American soil.
The man had said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi. He has repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair, using an oxygen mask and speaking with the apparent British accent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.