Aug 23, 2024, 10:02 AM
Aug 23, 2024, 12:00 AM

Fugitive Nicholas Rossi Extradited to US for Rape Case

Tragic
Highlights
  • Nicholas Rossi, accused of faking death and fleeing US to avoid rape charges, to stand trial in the US.
  • Rossi extradited from Scotland after facing accusations of rape in Utah in 2008.
  • Judge rules there is enough evidence for the case against Rossi to proceed.
Story

A Utah judge has ruled that Nicholas Rossi, a man accused of faking his own death to evade rape charges, will stand trial. During a preliminary hearing, District Judge Barry Lawrence determined that prosecutors had provided sufficient evidence for a jury trial. Rossi, 37, faces allegations of raping a former girlfriend in Salt Lake County in 2008, as well as a separate case involving a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year. The latter case remained unsolved for nearly a decade due to a backlog of DNA tests. Rossi, who has also gone by the name Nicholas Alahverdian, has claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight, asserting that he was framed and had never been in the U.S. He allegedly faked his death in 2020, with an obituary stating he died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, doubts about his death arose from authorities and his former foster family. Rossi was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being recognized while receiving treatment for COVID-19 and subsequently lost an extradition appeal. In court, Rossi requested to be referred to as Mr. Knight. The investigation into his past led to additional allegations, including sexual assault and harassment in multiple states. Following the preliminary hearing, Judge Lawrence found probable cause for the case, scheduling an arraignment for mid-October. Rossi is also facing another rape allegation in Salt Lake County.

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