A man who faked his own death and fled to Britain to escape rape charges in the US has been arrested in connection with a rape in the UK.
36-year-old Nicholas Rossi pretended to be a gravely ill Irish ophan called Arthur Knight in what became a long-running battle to convince authorities he was not the man police were looking for in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah. But in August, his true identity was revealed.
Rossi had turned up at court appearances wearing an oxygen mask and even theatrically collapsed on his wife during a notorious TV interview before DNA testing and distinctive tattoos were used to prove his true identity. He was involved in a long-running legal battle trying to fight his extradition to the US.
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Rossi converted to Judaism while at HMP Edinburgh (PA)But the Scottish government confirmed it had signed off on his extradition to the US last week. However, that could now be delayed after Rossi was arrested by Essex Police in connection with a suspected 2017 rape on Wednesday.
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A spokesman for the force said: "Officers investigating a non-recent allegation of rape in Chelmsford, which was made to us in April 2022, have arrested a 36-year-old man. After liaising with the appropriate authorities, Essex Police officers arrested the man on suspicion of rape this morning."
Rossi was born Nicholas Alahverdian before he changed his surname to his adoptive stepfather David Rossi's. He claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in late 2019, telling friends he was dying.
Rossi collapsed dramatically during an interview on NBC's Dateline after trying to prove he couldn't walk (NBC)There was even an obituary that appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and his ashes had been scattered out at sea. A year later, in 2021, Rossi was arrested on a Covid hospital ward in Scotland.
He was registered with the hospital as Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan, which he continues to insist is his real identity, claiming to never have set foot on American soil. Rossi was heard speaking with a questionable accent in an interview with NBC's Dateline, where he vehemently denied his name was Rossi or Alahverdian.
He then went on to theatrically collapse into his wife's arms after trying to stand in a strange effort to prove that he was unable to walk. In August, a sheriff ruled there is no impediment to Rossi being extradited, following a series of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen slammed Rossi as being "as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative".Along with claims about his identity being that of an Irish orphan instead of the suspected American rapist, Rossi's claims about his various medical conditions have also been disproven by expert witnesses.
Rossi would often turn up to court with an oxygen mask on (PA)Rossi repeatedly turned up at court, wheelchair-bound with an oxygen bottle. He claimed the muscles in his legs had been so badly atrophied that he was unable to walk or support himself, but a doctor disputed his claims, telling the court his legs were "strong and athletic".
On October 5, the Scottish Government revealed through a freedom of information request that a decision in his case had been made in September. It said: "The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on September 28, 2023."
Rossi showed up at court during a week-long hearing in June wearing what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke - a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men. He was questioned about his outfit in court and claimed the gown he was wearing was a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.
He converted to Judaism during his time in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022. In the August ruling, Sheriff McFadyen said Rossi's lies had "undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case".
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Nicholas Rossi arriving at court last year (Duncan McGlynn/REX/Shutterstock)Rossi learned of his fate on August 2, more than two months after he was arrested. He was already being investigated over allegations of rape in the UK but the court decided to delay a police interview until a decision on extradition had been confirmed.
In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio and was put on the sex offenders register. The woman agreed to meet Rossi after he messaged her on MySpace.
He said he was looking for friendship as he was "new to the area". At first, the woman found him intelligent and charismatic, so agreed to accompany him to his next class.
But as the pair entered an empty stairway, Rossi pressed her against a wall. He then started masturbating, ejaculating on a wall before crumpling into a heat.
Picture shows distinctive tattoos on the arm of Nicholas Rossi (Daily Record)He was reported to police and an Ohio court found him guilty of public indecency and sexual imposition in March 2008. Using the name Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife Miranda Knight in Bristol in 2019.
The pair married in early 2020 where Rossi took on the name Arthur Knight. They moved to Glasgow shortly after in 2021, but Rossi became so ill with Covid he was hospitalised.
DNA allegedly linked Rossi to a 2008 rape in Utah in July 2020, which is what led to his discovery in Scotland. He was arrested on December 13, 2021, at the Glasgow hospital by officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.
Medical staff at the hospital helped identify the patient initially named as Arthur Knight as Rossi. There has never been an official version of events from Rossi as he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and authorities have the wrong man.
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