Nicholas Alahverdian Rossi

Sources

1. 'Extreme cruelty': Ohio woman describes 7-month marriage to Nick Alahverdian, The Providence Journal, February 1, 2022.
2. US fugitive Nicholas Rossi who fled to Scotland sentenced for rape, BBC, October 20, 2025.
3. OREM CITY vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI CASE NUMBER 081202084 Other Misdemeanor, Xchange Utah Court, November 10, 2008.
4. STATE OF UTAH vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI CASE NUMBER 201402758 State Felony, Xchange Utah Court, September 10, 2020.
5. Rape convict Nicholas Rossi dies after choosing to discontinue medical treatment, ABC 4, June 26, 2026.
6. Nicholas Rossi, who faked his own death before he was convicted in 2 Utah rape cases, has died, Salt Lake Tribune, June 26, 2026.

• 1. 'Extreme cruelty': Ohio woman describes 7-month marriage to Nick Alahverdian

  • 20220201
  • News article
  • The Providence Journal

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  [excerpt]

  He insisted she wear nice skirts. And always with pantyhose.

  He “would have a conniption if he saw a tear,” she says.

  “There was this image he was going for.”

  Her Ohio marriage to Nicholas Alahverdian, the convicted sex offender and Rhode Island con man who would come to fake his death in 2020, lasted seven months.

• 2. US fugitive Nicholas Rossi who fled to Scotland sentenced for rape

  • 20251020
  • News article
  • BBC

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  A US man who faked his death and fled to Scotland after being accused of rape has been jailed for at least five years.

  Nicholas Rossi, 38, of Rhode Island, was convicted in separate trials in August and September of raping two women in Utah in 2008.

  Appearing in court in Salt Lake City on Monday, Rossi was sentenced by a judge for the first conviction to a term ranging from five years to life in prison. He is due to be sentenced for the second conviction next month.

  Before sentencing, Judge Barry G Lawrence described Rossi as a "serial abuser of women" and said he was the "very definition of a flight risk".

  "He fled the country to avoid investigation. He took on an alias and, even in response to this case, refused to admit who he was," the judge said.

  An online obituary posted in February 2020 said Rossi, who was born Nicholas Alahverdian, had died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

  He then came to wider attention in December 2021 when he was arrested on the Covid ward of a Glasgow hospital. Staff recognised his mugshot and distinctive tattoos from an Interpol wanted notice.

  Rossi claimed that his name was Arthur Knight - an Irish-born orphan who had never been to the US.

  He made a series of bizarre court appearances in Scotland - in a wheelchair, wearing a three-piece suit and an oxygen mask, maintaining his claim of mistaken identity.

  He was extradited to the US in January 2024 and put on trial in Utah for two separate charges of rape.

  The saga from Glasgow to Salt Lake City was documented in the BBC's Strange But True Crime podcast.

  Utah has an indeterminate sentencing, meaning it is given in a range of years rather than a fixed number. The judge said it was up to the state's board of pardons and parole to determine how long he should be jailed.

  Shortly before sentencing, one victim said Rossi had left a "trail of fear, pain and destruction" behind him.

  "This is not a plea for vengeance. This is a plea for safety and accountability, for recognition of the damage that will never fully heal," she said.

  Rossi maintained his debunked claims of mistaken identity - which have been disproved by DNA and matching tattoos - during his court appearance on Monday.

  "I am not guilty of this," he told the court before being sentenced. "These women are lying, and in due course, we will lodge an appeal."

• 3. OREM CITY vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI CASE NUMBER 081202084 Other Misdemeanor

  • 20081110
  • News article
  • Xchange Utah Court

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT - SPANISH FORK DISTRICT COURT
  UTAH COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH
  OREM CITY vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI
  CASE NUMBER 081202084 Other Misdemeanor

  CHARGES

  Charge 1 - 76-6-206 - ATTEMPTED - CRIMINAL TRESPASS - Class B Misdemeanor(amended to) - Class C Misdemeanor
  Offense Date: October 30, 2008
  Location: 76-6-206STUDENT CENTER
  Plea: January 21, 2009 No Contest
  Disposition: January 21, 2009 No Contest

  Charge 2 - 76-8-305 - INTERFERING W/ LEGAL ARREST - Class B Misdemeanor
  Offense Date: October 30, 2008
  Location: 76-6-206
  Plea: January 21, 2009 No Contest
  Disposition: January 21, 2009 No Contest

  Charge 3 - 76-6-106 - CRIMINAL MISCHIEF - Class A Misdemeanor
  Offense Date: October 30, 2008
  Location: 76-6-206
  Disposition: January 21, 2009 Dismissed (w/o prej)

  SENTENCE JAIL
  Based on the defendant's conviction of ATTEMPTED CRIMINAL TRESPASS a Class C Misdemeanor, the defendant is sentenced to a term of 90 day(s) The total time suspended for this charge is 90 day(s).
  Based on the defendant's conviction of INTERFERING W/ LEGAL ARREST a Class B Misdemeanor, the defendant is sentenced to a term of 180 day(s) The total time suspended for this charge is 180 day(s).

  ORDER OF PROBATION
  The defendant is placed on probation for 12 month(s).

  01-21-2009 Charge 1 Disposition is Guilty
  01-21-2009 Charge 2 Disposition is Guilty
  01-21-2009 Charge 3 Disposition is Dismissed
  01-21-2009 Charge 1 amended to Class C Misdemeanor
  01-21-2009 Charge 1 Disposition is No Contest
  01-21-2009 Charge 2 Disposition is No Contest

• 4. STATE OF UTAH vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI CASE NUMBER 201402758 State Felony

  • 20200910
  • News article
  • Xchange Utah Court

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT - PROVO DISTRICT COURT
  UTAH COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH
  STATE OF UTAH vs. NICHOLAS ROSSI
  CASE NUMBER 201402758 State Felony

  CHARGES

  Charge 1 - 76-5-402 - RAPE - 1st Degree Felony
  Offense Date: September 13, 2008
  Location: Utah County
  Disposition: September 24, 2025 Guilty - Jury

  SENTENCE PRISON
  Based on the defendant's conviction of RAPE a 1st Degree Felony, the defendant is sentenced to an indeterminate term of not less than five years and which may be life in the Utah State Prison.

  ALSO KNOWN AS (AKA) NOTE
  NICHOLAS ALAHVERDIAN
  Credit is granted for 663 day(s) previously served.
  PRISON NOTE
  Sentence is to run consecutive with Salt Lake case221906768.

  1-06-2025 Filed order: SENTENCE, JUDGMENT, COMMITMENT - PRISON
  Judge DEREK P PULLAN
  Signed November 06, 2025
  11-06-2025 Filed: Return of Electronic Notification
  11-09-2025 Filed: Notice of Appeal
  11-09-2025 Filed: Return of Electronic Notification
  11-10-2025 Note: Continuous Protective Order Service Date : 11-10-202501:30:00
  11-10-2025 Filed return: Return of Service on Continuous Protective Order and Acknowledgement of Firearm Restriction
  Party Served: ROSSI, NICHOLAS
  Service Type: Personal
  Service Date: November 10, 2025
  Garnishee:
  11-10-2025 Filed: Signed Protective Order Firearm Restriction Acknowledgement
  11-12-2025 Filed: Supreme Court of Utah - Letter to Counsel

• 5. Rape convict Nicholas Rossi dies after choosing to discontinue medical treatment

  • 20260626
  • News article
  • ABC 4

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Nicholas Rossi, the man who was extradited from Scotland to Utah and found guilty of rape twice, has died.

  Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is convicted of faking his death to escape rape charges in Salt Lake County and Utah County. Rossi insisted that prosecutors had the wrong man, and that he was actually a man named Arthur Knight.
  Nicholas Rossi sentenced to five years to life in second rape case

  In October 2025, Rossi was found guilty of first-degree felony rape of a 24-year-old woman. He was sentenced in Salt Lake County to five years to life in prison.

  One month later, in November 2025, Rossi was sentenced to five years to life in prison for a second rape conviction in Utah County, to be served consecutively with his first conviction.

  The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed that Rossi died in a local hospital on June 25, 2026, at 8:32 p.m. at age 38. He passed away from complications of an existing medical condition after choosing to discontinue medical treatment.

  Rossi was serving a cumulative sentence of 10 years to life for two counts of First-Degree Felony Rape.

  “Mr. Rossi was a sexual predator who tried to escape accountability. He was caught and died with the public knowledge of his guilt, and the personal accountability of being in prison. The survivors of his heinous acts have the consolation that he died in prison with the knowledge of the crimes he committed,” said Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill.

  Mj Jewkes contributed to this reporting.

• 6. Nicholas Rossi, who faked his own death before he was convicted in 2 Utah rape cases, has died

  • 20260626
  • News article
  • Salt Lake Tribune

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  Utah prison officials said Rossi, who was extradited from Scotland after years of denying his identity, died Thursday.

  Nicholas Rossi, the convicted rapist who faked his own death and fled to Scotland, died Thursday after Utah prison authorities say he chose to “discontinue medical treatment” for an existing condition. He was 38 years old.

  Rossi, who also went by the name Nicholas Alahverdian, was serving a 10-year-to-life prison sentence after juries in Utah and Salt Lake counties found him guilty of rape in two separate cases. Prison officials confirmed Friday that Rossi died Thursday evening at a local hospital.

  Corrections officials didn’t provide more details about Rossi’s health issues. He used a wheelchair and an oxygen tank during court appearances, and had been arrested in 2021 while being treated for COVID-19 in a Scotland hospital.

  After initially claiming Utah authorities had the wrong suspect — and that he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight — Rossi was extradited to the state in 2024 to face rape charges in the two northern Utah counties.

  He was convicted in both cases, and sentenced to a five-year-to-life sentence in each case last fall.

  In the Utah County case, he was identified as a suspect through a rape kit that had gone untested for a decade.

  After he was charged in Utah County, prosecutors in Salt Lake County filed a second rape charge with a different victim, Rossi’s ex-fiancee. In a statement Friday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill called Rossi “a sexual predator who tried to escape accountability.”

  “He was caught and died with the public knowledge of his guilt, and the personal accountability of being in prison,” Gill continued. “The survivors of his heinous acts have the consolation that he died in prison with the knowledge of the crimes he committed.”