- Nicholas Rossi is being sought by US authorities due to charges of rape and sexual assault.
- He allegedly staged his own demise and fled to Scotland to avoid capture.
- The Scottish courts will now determine whether to extradite him to the US so that he can face trial.
Nicholas Rossi, a wanted US man, was detained in a Scottish hospital last year, according to a court decision.
The individual said his name was Arthur Knight and said he had been the victim of mistaken identity.
However, the Edinburgh Sheriff Court was informed that Rossi’s fingerprints and body art matched his.
Rossi is being sought by US authorities due to charges of rape and sexual assault.
He allegedly staged his own demise and fled to Scotland to avoid capture.
He had spent the previous year adamantly claiming to be Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan who had never visited the US.
He said that in an effort to frame him, he had received distinctive tattoos that matched those on Rossi’s arms while he was asleep in a Glasgow hospital.
But after a three-day hearing, Sheriff Norman McFadyen said: “I am ultimately satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition by the United States.”
Rossi’s claims of having been the victim of mistaken identity were dismissed by Sheriff McFadyen as “implausible” and “fanciful,” and he added that his frequent name changes were “very suspicious” and “consistent with someone who was hiding from someone or something.”
The Scottish courts will now determine whether to extradite him to the US so that he can face trial for the charges against him there during an extradition hearing in March.
Rossi was being treated for Covid when staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital saw his tattoos, which had been included in Interpol’s pictures. Rossi was then taken into custody by Police Scotland.
Lisa Davidson, a fingerprint expert, testified in court that the prints obtained from the suspect after his detention who claimed to be Arthur Knight matched those of Rossi, who was the subject of an extradition request from the US and an Interpol red notice.
Rossi, however, alleged that an NHS employee going by the name of “Patrick” had interfered with and taken the fingerprints from him on behalf of David Leavitt, a Utah county attorney.
Advocate depute Paul Harvey dismissed his claims as “entirely outlandish” and “bizarre”.
Rossi’s accent also fluctuated a bit while he was providing testimony.
Rossi fired at least six attorneys during a previous round of hearings in the case and asserted that he had been subjected to torture while imprisoned.
During the hearing, his wife, Miranda Knight, 41, testified in front of the court and claimed that her husband had made no indications that he was actually Nicholas Rossi.
The court was shown a copy of Rossi’s marriage license, which was signed by Nicholas Brown.
On Wednesday, the court was informed that further extradition petitions had been made by US prosecutors in connection with allegations of rape in Salt Lake City and sexual assault against Rossi.
Rossi, who was in a wheelchair when he appeared in court, was already battling a request for extradition from Utah officials who claim he sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman there in 2008.
He had already been found guilty of sexually abusing Mary, a woman he had met online in 2008.
Rossi touched, kissed, and masturbated in front of her while holding her against a wall at an Ohio college.
Mary said she hoped Rossi would now face justice on the other allegations against him, adding: “He is trying to fool everybody and I’m glad so many people see through it”.
