SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A person accused of faking his dying and fleeing the U.S. to keep away from rape expenses in Utah denied at a court docket look Tuesday that he’s the suspect and, in an obvious British accent, referred to as allegations that he wasn’t giving his true identify “full rumour.”
Nicholas Rossi, whose authorized identify is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with the rape of a 21-year-old girl in Orem, Utah, in 2008, prosecutors mentioned. He wasn’t recognized as a suspect till a few decade later as a result of a backlog of DNA check kits on the Utah State Crime Lab.
Rossi, 36, was extradited from Scotland earlier this month. He recognized himself Tuesday as Arthur Knight Brown and gave a birthdate in British English — itemizing the day first, adopted by the month and 12 months — that’s completely different from Rossi’s, KSTU-TV reported.
He appeared from jail by way of video sporting an oxygen masks and didn’t enter a plea on the preliminary court docket look. He was obscure at instances and needed to carry up the masks to be heard.
Deputy Salt Lake County legal professional Tamara Basuez mentioned Rossi has not admitted his identify or birthdate since he returned to Utah.
“Objection, my woman, that’s full rumour,” Rossi informed the decide.
Rossi is jailed with out the potential of posting bail within the Orem case. The decide set a detention listening to for Jan. 26.
The decide mentioned a lawyer could be appointed for Rossi. He mentioned he has one, however that the legal professional didn’t obtain discover of Tuesday’s listening to.
Rossi, who grew up in foster properties in Rhode Island, made a reputation for himself there as a vocal critic of the state’s Division of Kids, Youth and Households.
4 years in the past, he informed media in Rhode Island that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to stay. An obituary printed on-line claimed he died Feb. 29, 2020.
He used at the least 10 completely different aliases over time, prosecutors mentioned.
Authorities mentioned his run from the legislation ended when he was arrested in December 2021 after being acknowledged by somebody at a Glasgow, Scotland, hospital whereas he was being handled for COVID-19. He insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had by no means set foot on American soil.
The person had mentioned he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints whereas he was in a coma so they might join him to Rossi. He has repeatedly appeared in court docket in a wheelchair, utilizing an oxygen masks and talking with the obvious British accent.
After a protracted court docket battle, Decide Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Courtroom ruled in August that the extradition could move forward. The decide referred to as Rossi “as dishonest and deceitful as he’s evasive and manipulative.”
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