Nicholas Rossi: US fugitive who faked death and fled to Scotland guilty of rape charge
Nicholas Rossi faces another trial in September
A US man who fled to Scotland after faking his death to escape justice has been found guilty of rape charge at a court in Utah.
Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, was accused of sexually assaulting two women in Utah in 2008, one in Salt Lake County, and the other in Utah County.
The cases are being tried separately. He denied all charges.
After a three-day trial, in which the court heard from his accuser, Rossi was found guilty of rape in relation to an attack in Salt Lake County. The trial for an alleged rape Utah County is scheduled for September.
The BBC reported that it took the jurors more than eight hours to reach their verdict.
It said Rossi showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.
Rossi, 38, was extradited from Scotland to the US in January 2024 after a lengthy case in the Scottish courts.
He came to the attention of authorities when he was identified at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in December 2021 while being treated for Covid-19 under the name Arthur Knight.
He was arrested after being identified by his distinctive tattoos as a person the US authorities wanted to extradite, but claimed this was a case of mistaken identity.
An extradition hearing took place in June 2023, and an extradition warrant was signed in September 2023. Rossi was finally sent to the US in January 2024.