Rape suspect Nicholas Rossi caused confusion during his first court appearance since being extradited to the US on assault charges.
Rossi, whose real name is Nicholas Alahverdian, fled after being named as a suspect in 2008. He is said to have faked his own death before being arrested in Glasgow.
The 36-year-old appeared at a virtual hearing on Tuesday, his first since his extradition earlier this month.
He spoke with a British accent during the hearing and wore an oxygen mask which made it difficult to understand what he was saying.
Nicholas Rossi, whose real name is Nicholas Alahverdian, appeared in court for the first time since his extradition to the United States earlier this month
The 36-year-old, pictured in a police photo from a 2010 arrest, fled to Scotland after being identified as a suspect in a 2008 rape case.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Rossi wore an oxygen mask and spoke with a British accent, as he has done at previous court hearings abroad.
When Judge Kimberly Hornak asked if he was Rossi, he gave a garbled answer. “I think I should have the prison repeat what he said,” Hornak said.
Rossi identified himself as Arthur Knight Brown, the name he lived by after fleeing the country.
Hornak was subsequently told that Rossi had not given his real name or date of birth and had been extradited to Utah.
“Objection, ma’am!” said Rossi. “Those are merely rumors and I would ask that Madam and the prosecution prove why I am.”
While Rossi continued to talk, Hornak set up a detention hearing for January 26 and ordered the 36-year-old not to have any contact with the alleged victim.
‘Mr. Knight, we are ready,” the judge said. Rossi is accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, nearly 16 years ago.
He was identified as a suspect about a decade later due to a backlog of DNA testing kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.
The 36-year-old identified himself as Arthur Knight Brown, the name he would live by after fleeing the US.
He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Orem, Utah, nearly 16 years ago. Rossi is facing another rape charge in Salt Lake County and multiple other complaints
The fugitive has insisted for years that he is actually an Irish orphan and was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma.
In 2019, Rossi claimed he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was accused of faking his death a year later (pictured in 2008 in Utah)
The 36-year-old was booked into the Davis County Jail on January 5.
Rossi, who has used at least 10 aliases, is again accused of rape in Salt Lake County, where prosecutors allege he attacked an ex-girlfriend after an argument.
He faces multiple other charges in Rhode Island and Ohio alleging domestic violence, sexual abuse and fraud.
For years, the fugitive has insisted he is actually an Irish orphan and was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma.
He also claimed that he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late 2019.
The following year, an online obituary appeared stating that his ashes had been scattered at sea.
Under the name Arthur Brown, Rossi is said to have met his wife Miranda Knight in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, taking her surname.
The couple moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards, but in 2021 Rossi became so ill with Covid that he was admitted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Rossi, pictured in July 2022, was admitted to hospital in Glasgow in 2021 after falling ill with Covid
After being identified by medical personnel and authorities, the 36-year-old was arrested that year. In September, Scottish ministers signed an order authorizing his extradition
But this proved to be his downfall, when medical staff and authorities discovered his real identity after comparing his tattoos with photographs from an Interpol Red Notice.
He was arrested in December that year and in September 2023, Scottish ministers signed an order authorizing Rossi’s extradition.
Speaking to Dailymail.com last year, Rossi’s stepfather David described the 36-year-old as ‘the spawn of the devil’.
He said his estranged stepson was a “bad” child who beat his mother and grandmother. Rossi “was getting worse every day,” David said.
“He will do anything to hide from the law,” he added. “The wheelchair, the mask…There’s nothing wrong with him.”