Nicholas Rossi, convicted American rapist
A man whose extraordinary attempt to avoid arrest, transcontinental extradition, false identities and even staged death has died behind bars in the United States.Nicholas Rossi, the convicted American rapist who made international headlines after he faked his death and fled to Scotland, died Thursday night in a Utah hospital while serving a prison sentence for two rape convictions.The Utah Department of Corrections said the 38-year-old died from complications related to a pre-existing medical condition after choosing to stop treatment. His family and the victims have been notified, authorities said.Rossi, born Nicholas Al Ahverdian in Rhode Island, was serving a 10-year to life sentence after being convicted in separate trials in 2024 of raping two women in Utah in 2008.His downfall came after one of the most bizarre fugitive sagas in recent memory.
In 2020, an online obituary claimed that Rossi died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But investigators grew suspicious, especially since he was wanted in connection with rape allegations and other investigations in the United States.The mystery unraveled in 2021 when hospital staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow reportedly identified Rossi from an Interpol notice while he was being treated in a Covid ward.
The distinctive tattoo helped identify him, although he insisted that he was in fact “Arthur Knight”, an Irish-born orphan who had never set foot in America.For years, Rossi fought his extradition in the Scottish courts, appearing at hearings in a wheelchair, often wearing an oxygen mask and overalls while maintaining he was the victim of mistaken identity. He repeatedly denied that he was Russian and rejected evidence linking him to the wanted American fugitive.The Scottish courts eventually rejected his claims, with a judge calling his story implausible. After exhausting his legal appeals, he was extradited to the United States in January 2024, and later admitted his real identity during court proceedings.Prosecutors in Utah portrayed Rossi as a serial sexual predator who spent years trying to evade accountability. One victim testified that Rossi became abusive shortly after they got engaged and raped her in 2008.
Another woman reported that she was assaulted after confronting him about money she claimed he had stolen.Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Rossi spent years trying to evade justice but eventually died in prison after being publicly found guilty.“Mr. Rossi was a sexual predator who tried to escape accountability,” Gill said, adding that his victims could find some solace in knowing that he died in prison with full knowledge of his crimes.