Convicted US rapist who faked death to flee to Scotland to avoid arrest dies in prison hospital
A man who crossed continents, faked his identity and even fabricated his death in an extraordinary attempt to avoid arrest and extradition has died in a U.S. prison.Nicholas Rossi, the convicted rapist in the United States who made international headlines for allegedly faking his own death and fleeing to Scotland, died Thursday night in a Utah hospital where he was serving time for two rapes.The Utah Department of Corrections said the 38-year-old man died from complications related to a pre-existing condition after choosing to stop treatment. Authorities said his family and victims have been informed.Rossi, born Nicholas Alahverdian in Rhode Island, was convicted in a separate trial in 2024 for raping two women in Utah in 2008 and is currently serving a 10-year to life sentence.His downfall follows one of the most bizarre escape sagas in recent memory. In 2020, an online obituary said Rosie died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But investigators became suspicious, particularly because he was wanted in connection with rape charges and other investigations in the United States.The mystery was revealed in 2021 when Rossi was reportedly recognized in an Interpol notice by staff at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he was being treated in the coronavirus ward. Unique tattoos helped identify him, although he insisted he was actually “Arthur Knight,” an orphan born in Ireland who never set foot in the United States.For years, Rossi fought extradition in Scottish courts, attending hearings in a wheelchair, often wearing an oxygen mask and formal suits while insisting he was a victim of mistaken identity. He has repeatedly denied that he is Rossi and dismissed evidence linking him to a fugitive wanted by the United States.A Scottish court ultimately rejected his claim, with the judge describing his story as unbelievable. After various legal challenges, he was extradited to the United States in January 2024 and later admitted his true identity in court proceedings.Utah prosecutors have described Rossi as a serial sexual predator who spent years trying to avoid accountability. One victim testified that Rossi began abusing her shortly after a whirlwind engagement and raped her in 2008. Another woman said she was assaulted after being confronted by him, who she claimed had stolen money.Salt Lake County Prosecutor Sim Gill said Rossi tried to evade justice for years but eventually died in prison after his public conviction.“Mr. Rossi was a sexual predator who sought to evade responsibility,” Gill said, adding that his victims can take some comfort knowing he died in prison with full awareness of his crimes.
