Jail records on Monday revealed that Nicholas Rossi, a U.S. fugitive accused of faking his own death and fleeing the country to evade rape charges, is currently held in a Davis County Jail in Utah following his extradition from Scotland last week.
Local prosecutors charge Rossi, also known by his legal name, Nicholas Alahverdian, with sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in 2008. Rossi became a suspect about a decade later due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.
Salt Lake County holds another serious rape charge against Rossi, where prosecutors assert he assaulted a 26-year-old former girlfriend in 2008 following an argument. Additionally, multiple complaints of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and fraud have been lodged against him in Rhode Island and Ohio.
After employing at least 10 aliases in his evasion of the law, the 36-year-old suspect was incarcerated on Friday afternoon at the Davis County Jail, a facility that accommodates numerous federal detainees in northern Utah. The Utah County Attorney’s Office expects his impending transfer to Utah County, where he will face trial for felony rape charges.
As of Monday, Rossi’s preliminary court date remains undetermined, and records do not specify his legal representation.
Fugitive’s elusive trail stopped
Having grown up in Rhode Island foster homes, Rossi returned to the state before allegedly faking his death to escape legal consequences. An online obituary declared Rossi’s demise on February 29, 2020, citing late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma as the cause. However, skepticism from the state police and his former foster family cast doubt on the authenticity of his death.
In the subsequent year, following the event where he was recognized at a Glasgow hospital during COVID-19 treatment, authorities arrested Rossi in Scotland.
Despite claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight with no U.S. travel history, an Edinburgh judge, after an extended legal dispute, ruled in August that extradition was permissible. The judge characterized Rossi as deceitful, evasive, dishonest, and manipulative.
In December, Rossi’s appeal was unsuccessful, leading to his apprehension by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2024-01-08/us-fugitive-accused-of-faking-his-death-to-avoid-rape-charges-is-booked-into-a-utah-jail