Who is Nicholas Rossi and what happened to him? Inside the true story of the serial rapist and fugitive wanted by the FBI

A fugitive American rape suspect who faked his own death and spent two years in a legal battle against his extradition from Scotland has hit the headlines many times in the long-running saga. 

Suspected conman Nicholas Rossi continues to maintain that he is in fact an Irish orphan, Arthur Knight, as he awaits trial in Utah.

The rape suspect was sent back to the United States in January 2024, but both he and his wife Miranda insist that he is a victim of mistaken identity.

Rossi, who has become known for his bizarre court appearances where he speaks in a British accent and wears an oxygen mask, stands accused of two counts of rape in 2008, for which he could face a life sentence.

Tonight, Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead, which airs on Channel 4, asks who the real Nicholas Rossi is.

Here Femail reveals all you need to know about the alleged rapist and con artist.  

Rape suspect Nicholas Rossi (pictured) has continued to maintain that he is in fact Arthur Knight as he awaits trial in Utah

As Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead is set to air on Channel 4 , FEMAIL asks who is Nicholas Rossi (pictured before fleeing to Scotland)

Who is Nicholas Rossi?

Nicholas Rossi was welcomed into the world as Nicholas Alahverdian in Rhode Island in July 1987 to parents Jack and Diana Alahverdian.

According to the Independent, he was later adopted by his stepfather David Rossi and took on his surname.

Rossi, according to both his own writings and family accounts, spent his childhood in between treatment centres and foster homes.

He was also diagnosed with behavioural and mental health issues according to The Providence Journal.

On one occasion, Rossi, then 12, was released from his treatment program and foster home for the Christmas holidays in 1999.

But after a dispute broke out between family members, his parents requested he be taken out of the home only days after New Year's.

The 12-year-old later found himself in a shelter for boys in Woonsocket, describing it to the Providence Journal as 'decent for someone my age.

'There were caring people there. There were activities set up for us each night,' he said.

Following his years spent in the care of the Department of Children Youth and Families, Rossi became a vocal critic of the system.

During a conference at the State House in 2011, the founder of the social advocacy group Nexus claimed to have been subjected to 'torture, beatings, assault in various forms.'

Rossi told WJAR: 'I was refused to contact anybody, anybody at all. These facilities are dangerous. My question to Rhode Island is, 'Why are we paying for them?'

Rossi, according to both his own writings and family accounts, spent his childhood in between treatment centres and foster homes

What did Nicholas Rossi do?

Nicholas Rossi was charged with the rape of a woman, 21, in Orem Utah in 2008.

As a result of a backlog in DNA test kits at Utah State Crime Lab, Rossi was not named as a suspect until around ten years later.

A warrant for his arrest was later issued in 2020.

He also stands accused of the rape of another woman, 26, in Salt Lake County from the same year.

Several allegations of domestic violence have also emerged against him from his hometown of Rhode Island.

At the beginning of 2020, Rossi announced to the media that he had mere weeks to live due to a late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma, The Independent reports.

An obituary declaring his death was released online on February 29. 2020.

His ex-lawyer alleged Rossi had travelled to Ireland for a fresh start in 2019 - however, it's not clear where he stayed. 

Nicholas Rossi was charged with the rape of a two women, 21 and 28 in Utah in 2008 - a warrant was issued for his arrest in 2020

At the beginning of 2020, Rossi announced to the media that he had mere weeks to live due to a late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma an obituary was later published announcing his death

His ex-lawyer alleged Rossi had travelled to Ireland for a fresh start in 2019 - however, the exact location at the time of his whereabouts remains unknown

By the time he first set eyes on his wife Miranda Knight in Bristol that same year, it was believed he was going by the alias Arthur Brown.

A year later the pair tied the knot, with Rossi taking on the surname of Knight.

'Arthur' and Miranda Knight put down roots in Scotland in 2021, where he was reportedly working as a professor at the University of Glasgow.

Noting that Rossi often used an English accent, neighbours told The Times: 'For someone who was on the run, he really liked to draw attention to himself.'

Miranda's brother claimed Rossi spoke with a thick Irish accent and never discussed his own family.

According to Kevin, his sister was beside herself when the allegations emerged against her husband.

The brother claimed Miranda believed the authorities had accused the wrong man.

He told the Daily Record in 2022: 'Nicholas is a master ­manipulator. He's told her it's a case of mistaken identity.

'He kept my sister under this spell. He's pulled every manipulation trick in the book to try and keep her under that spell.'

Prosecutors believe Rossi has used ten different aliases over the years including, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown and Nick Alahverdian.

He met his wife Miranda Knight (pictured) in Bristol in 2019, whilst going by the alias of Arthur Knight. The pair later tied the knot in 2020

Her brother claimed Miranda (pictured with Rossi) was devastated, believing the authorities had accused the wrong man 

What happened to Nicholas Rossi and where is he now?

Nicholas Rossi was detained after he awoke from a medically induced coma in a COVID ward at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in December 2021.

He was arrested on December 13, 2021, at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

The fugitive alleged police framed him after taking his fingerprints whilst he was in a coma.

In November it was ruled Arthur Knight was in fact Rossi, and he later lost his last appeal against extradition.

Rossi has been awaiting trial in jail in Utah since December last year.

During one of his first court appearances in the US, he continued to speak in a British accent throughout the hearing and sported an oxygen mask that made it difficult to understand what he was saying.

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead airs at 9pm on 20th May on Channel 4