Nicholas Rossi, accused of faking his own death to avoid rape charges, will stand trial after a judge in Utah ruled that there was enough evidence presented by prosecutors to warrant a jury trial. Rossi is accused of raping a former girlfriend in Salt Lake County in 2008, as well as a separate rape case in Orem, Utah. Due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab, Rossi was not identified as a suspect for about a decade. Rossi, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian, claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had used several aliases. He allegedly faked his death in 2020, but was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being recognized at a hospital during treatment for COVID-19. His extradition appeal was denied in December. Rossi faces additional charges of sexual assault, harassment, and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Despite Rossi’s claims of being an Irish orphan and never setting foot on American soil, authorities and his former foster family doubted his death and he will now face trial for the rape charges against him. His attorneys from the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association did not provide a comment on the ruling.
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Utah judge orders trial for man accused of faking death and escaping US to avoid rape charges
