Trial begins for US fugitive accused of faking his death in UK to avoid rape charges
Nicholas Rossi was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being reported dead, claiming he was an Irish orphan being framed
A man accused of faking his death and fleeing to the United Kingdom to avoid rape charges faced an alleged victim in court on Monday as a jury trial in Utah began.
The man known in the US as Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is accused of sexually assaulting two women in Utah in 2008. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors are trying the cases separately, with the first set in Salt Lake County.
Rossi, 38, was arrested in Scotland in 2021 - a year after he was reported dead - when he was recognised at a Glasgow hospital while receiving treatment for Covid-19. He lost an extradition appeal after claiming he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil and was being framed.
Prosecutors say they have identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture.
Rossi appeared in court in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and tie and using an oxygen tank. The alleged victim identified him from the witness box, saying he’s “a little bit heavier, a little bit older” but mostly looks the same.
District Judge Barry Lawrence helped clarify for the jury some of the twists and turns of the case, explaining that different people may refer to Rossi by different names. The defence and prosecution agreed it’s factual that Rossi was in Utah in 2008 and had a relationship that year with the woman who testified.