Rape suspect Nicholas Rossi appears in oxygen mask as he denies charges in first US court appearance

Fugitive Nicholas Rossi, accused of faking his death and fleeing the US to avoid rape charges, he denied the allegations in his first court appearance since being extradited from Scotland.

Rossi, 35, is wanted in the US for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and also faces domestic abuse charges.

He wasn't identified as a suspect until about a decade later due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the state crime lab.

On Tuesday, appearing in court from jail via video camera, he identified himself as Arthur Knight Brown and gave a birthdate in British format - listing the day first, followed by the month and year - that is different from Rossi's.

Rossi, who grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island, allegedly died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on February 29, 2020. An obituary appeared on his website, seemingly written by himself.

In reality, it is believed he moved to the UK in 2017, where he adopted the Arthur Brown alias.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Tamara Basuez said Rossi has not admitted his name or birthdate since he returned to Utah.

“Objection, my lady, that is complete hearsay,” Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, told the judge in an apparent British accent.

Rossi is jailed without the possibility of posting bail in the case.

The judge said a lawyer would be appointed for Rossi. He said he has one, but that the attorney did not receive notice of Tuesday's hearing.

He used at least 10 different aliases over the years, prosecutors said.

Authorities said his run from the law ended when he was arrested in December 2021 after being recognized by someone at a Glasgow hospital while he was being treated for Covid.

He insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had never set foot on American soil.

The man had said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi.

He has repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair and using an oxygen mask.

After a protracted court battle, Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court ruled in August that the extradition could move forward. 

The judge called Rossi “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.”

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