Nicholas Rossi: Rapist who faked death and fled to Scotland dies in US hospital

ByPaul McLaren

BBC Scotland News

Updated 1 hour ago

Nicholas Rossi, the American rapist who faked his death and fled to Scotland in a bid to escape justice, has died in a US hospital.

The Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) said the 38-year-old had been suffering from "chronic, degenerative conditions".

It said Rossi died in a local hospital on Thursday after "he chose to remove himself from the care that was being provided".

Rossi was found guilty of raping two women in Utah in 2008 after two separate trials in 2024.

A UDC spokesman said: "Rossi was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 20:32.

"Rossi died from complications of an existing medical condition after choosing to discontinue medical treatment.

"This notification follows communication with Rossi's family and his victims."

Rossi was serving 10 years to life for crimes that included sexual assault.

He had fled to Scotland in 2021 in an attempt to evade justice but was arrested in the Covid ward of a Glasgow hospital.

Staff recognised his mugshot and distinctive tattoos from an Interpol wanted notice - but he claimed to be an Irish-born orphan called Arthur Knight, who had never been to America.

He gave an interview to the BBC, where he maintained his story - but could not produce a birth certificate or a passport.

Rossi continued to insist at a series of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court - which he usually attended in an electric wheelchair, wearing an oxygen mask, hat and three-piece suit - that he was the victim of mistaken identity.

He was finally extradited to the US in January 2024, more than a year after the court had ruled that he was indeed Nicholas Rossi.

He was convicted in separate trials in August and September that year of raping two women in Utah in 2008.

The Big Cases: Unmasking a Fugitive

The story of Nicholas Rossi, the US fugitive who came to the UK with a new identity after faking his own death.

Born Nicholas Alahverdian in Rhode Island in 1987, Rossi spent time in care as a teenager and went on to become a child welfare campaigner.

Reports of his death emerged in 2020, but the authorities suspected Rossi had fled to the UK after discovering that the FBI were investigating an alleged credit card fraud.

His online footprint ultimately led police to the hospital in Glasgow, where he was identified by staff.

Rossi insisted that he had been given his distinctive tattoos while he was lying unconscious in the hospital in an attempt to frame him.

He sacked several lawyers before a sheriff eventually ruled in 2023 that he was Nicholas Rossi, and that his mistaken identity claim was "implausible" and fanciful".

He was flown back to America in January 2024 after failing to overturn the decision. Several months later, he admitted his real identity during a bail hearing in Salt Lake City.