Nicholas Rossi: US fugitive who faked his death can be extradited

An American fugitive who faked his own death can be extradited from Scotland to his homeland, a sheriff has ruled.

Nicholas Rossi, who claims to be Arthur Knight and a victim of mistaken identity, is wanted in Utah to face rape charges.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen said Rossi was "as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative".

The final decision on his extradition now rests with Scottish ministers.

Rossi, 35, was being treated for Covid-19 when he was arrested at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow on 13 December 2021.

BBC Scotland News later established he was a registered sex offender in the US and spoke to his ex-wife Kathryn Heckendorn, who said she was physically and psychologically abused during their seven-month marriage.

On Wednesday he appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court via videolink to learn the outcome of the extradition case.

Earlier in the morning the fugitive sat slumped in his wheelchair before the camera in Edinburgh's Saughton Prison with his face hidden.

But as Mungo Bovey KC was asking for his client to be excused, Rossi raised his head and shouted at the sheriff, calling him a "disgrace to justice".

At that point the clerk cut the video connection.

When the court reconvened Sheriff McFadyen said Rossi's character had "undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case".

He also highlighted unreliable testimony from the fugitive, ranging from the length of time he had been in a wheelchair to his claim that he couldn't lift his hands above his head.

The sheriff concluded that there was no legal barrier to extradition.

He added: "It follows that I must send the case of the requested person Nicholas Rossi to the Scottish ministers for their decision whether he is to be extradited."

Last November Sheriff McFadyen ruled that he was Nicholas Rossi and not Arthur Knight, as he had repeatedly claimed, with the bizarre story making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

Authorities in the US have said Rossi was known by several aliases, including Nicholas Alahverdian.

He was involved in local politics in the state of Rhode Island and was a critic of the state's child welfare system.

In December 2019 he told media in his home state that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live.

Several news outlets in Rhode Island reported that he had died in February 2020.

A memorial posted online, external described him as a "warrior that fought on the front lines for two decades" for children's rights and said his ashes had been scattered at sea.

But less than two years later Rossi, who was the subject of an Interpol wanted notice, turned up on a hospital ward in Glasgow during the pandemic.

In March last year, as he awaited his extradition hearing, the fugitive was interviewed by BBC Scotland reporter Steven Godden in Glasgow.

Rossi, who was in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask, maintained he was not Nicholas Rossi - and claimed to have never even been to America.

But in 2008 he was found guilty of sexual imposition and public indecency while a student at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Rossi also introduced his wife, Miranda Knight, during the interview and claimed the couple got married in Bristol in 2020.

He brought a pile of documents to BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay headquarters but said he had no birth certificate as he was adopted in Ireland before moving to London in his teens.

But last November a court in Edinburgh ruled that he was Rossi after hearing that his fingerprints and distinctive tattoos matched those of the fugitive.

He appeared in court in a wheelchair every day during the three-day identification hearing, and his accent changed several times while he was giving evidence.

Despite the ruling Rossi maintained he was the victim of mistaken identity - and said he had been tattooed while he was lying unconscious in hospital in an attempt to frame him.

He returned to the city's Sheriff Court in June of this year for his extradition hearing.

Mr Bovey urged the court to refuse extradition of his client or adjourn proceedings to allow fuller investigation of Rossi's mental health.

But three medical witnesses said Rossi showed no signs of acute mental illness and a GP at Saughton also cast doubt on the state of his health in general.

Dr Barbara Mundweil told the court there was "no reason" for Rossi to be using an electric wheelchair and that his legs were "strong and athletic".

She also said she saw a video appearing to be of Rossi kicking open a door and kicking a prison officer in the face, despite using a manual wheelchair in prison.

Sheriff McFadyen had been due to deliver his ruling last month but the hearing was delayed after Rossi tested positive for Covid.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, it emerged last year that Rossi was wanted by Essex Police for questioning over a rape allegation in the UK.

Watch Now on BBC iPlayer: Unmasking A Fugitive - The story of Nicholas Rossi, the US fugitive who came to the UK with a new identity