Man arrested in UK is US fugitive wanted for rape, faking his own death – claims mistaken identity
- Suspect arrested in a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for Covid-19, claims he is an Irish orphan who has never been to the US
- Says authorities had him tattooed while he was in a coma to resemble the wanted man, and of surreptitiously taking his fingerprints to frame him
A judge in Scotland ruled on Friday that a man who has spent almost a year fighting extradition to the United States is Nicholas Rossi, a fugitive alleged to have faked his own death to escape rape allegations.
The suspect was arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for Covid-19. He denies being Rossi and says he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never been to the US.
After seeing evidence including fingerprints and tattoos, judge Norman McFadyen told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that “I am ultimately satisfied on the balance of probabilities … that Mr Knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition by the United States.”
The suspect has accused authorities of having him tattooed while he was in a coma to resemble the wanted man and of surreptitiously taking his fingerprints to frame him.
McFadyen said those claims of mistaken identity were “implausible” and “fanciful.”
US authorities say Rossi is an alias used by Nicholas Alahverdian, 35, who has been charged in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah.