"He appears today as Arthur Knight but has previously been identified as Nicholas Rossi," the prosecutor told the court.
Summary:
- Nicholas Rossi fakes death, adopts new identity, faces extradition amidst rape charges.
- Complex legal saga unfolds, revealing a pattern of false identities and alleged sexual assaults.
Nicholas Rossi, currently facing a rape charge in Utah, recently appeared in court, his face obscured by an oxygen mask and his voice barely audible. Rossi appeared via video Tuesday from the Utah County jail.
When the judge asked him, “Are you Mr. Rossi?” he mumbled a different name in what sounded like a British accent.
Keep Reading:
- Israeli Envoy Urges Clarity From Canada On ICJ Genocide Case
- Biden Affirms Continued Airstrikes On Yemen’s Houthis Amid Escalating Tensions
- The Trump Factor: PM Trudeau Addresses Canada’s Challenges And Concerns
Identified as Arthur Knight Brown, Rossi provided a birth date differing from official records, using the British date format.
The 2020 court document highlighted that the emails and obituary were consistent with Nicholas Rossi’s previous written communications before his alleged death.
This peculiar incident is part of a convoluted saga involving Rossi, who stands accused of employing false identities, fleeing the country, and attempting to fake his own death to avoid prosecution for sexual assaults.
Arrested in Scotland in 2021, Rossi claimed to be an Irish orphan unfamiliar with the United States. However, investigators contend that he is an American who fabricated his demise, fleeing to Ireland and Scotland to evade rape charges in Utah.
In August, a Scottish court ruled in favor of Rossi’s extradition to the US. Arriving in Utah this month, the 36-year-old, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian, faces charges stemming from a 2008 alleged rape in Orem and a separate charge in Salt Lake County. Accused of using at least 10 aliases and various accents, Rossi appeared in court without legal representation.
Rossi’s pattern of attacks involved meeting women online, convincing them to meet alone, and initiating inappropriate contact. If the women attempted to leave, he would resort to threats of suicide or force non-consensual encounters.
In 2017, Utah investigators, reviewing old sexual assault kits, discovered a DNA profile linking Rossi to a 2008 rape case in Ohio.
“The emails and the obituary were all written in a similar manner to previous written communications sent by Nicholas Rossi prior to his purported death,” the 2020 court document said.
“There is a generally held belief between the different states involved that Nicholas Rossi is alive and attempted to fake his death.”
The FBI tracked Rossi to Scotland in 2021, leading to his arrest. Rossi, consistently denying his identity and the charges against him, accuses investigators of obtaining his fingerprints during hospitalization.
Despite his claims, Edinburgh Sheriff Court maintains that Rossi’s fingerprints match those provided by US law enforcement.
“We are not going to answer the questions of how we found him, as that would expose investigative techniques,” Utah County Attorney David Leavitt said in a statement after his arrest. “We will respond that we found him through diligent investigative efforts, which we passed on to Interpol authorities, who located him in Scotland.”
“Our office is grateful for the significant interagency collaboration of law enforcement to bring this suspect to justice,” Leavitt, the Utah prosecutor, said in a statement in January 2022.
“He appears today as Arthur Knight but has previously been identified by medical professionals and civilians as Nicholas Rossi,” the prosecutor told the court. Rossi then shouted from the dock, “That’s not true.”
Rossi’s complex case involves multiple jurisdictions, identities, and allegations. The upcoming hearing in Utah on January 26 will likely provide further insight into this ongoing legal drama.