Now on bbc news, unmasking a fugitive. Radio local news and information on wpro, providence. Nicholas ala hverdian. He grew up in foster care here, here in rhode island. He has passed away from a long battle with cancer. Nicholas alahverdian was 32. Cant say this enough, how bizarre this next story is. Yeah, as weve been telling you,. Authorities say a rhode island man faked his own death and then hid out in scotland. Nicholas rossi has gone by a variety of names over the years, one being Nicholas Alahverdian. He told me, he is a dangerous man. Hes wanted in numerous states. Then later on, i find out that hes alive. I said, i dont believe it. I was like, wow. Ia court in scotland has ruled thati a man who claimed he was a victim of mistaken identity is the suspect in a series of sex crimes in the united states. Mr rossi. Im not mr rossi at all. Ok, then. Thats not Arthur Knight. And you were always absolutely certain it was him . 100 . I was the whistle blower. Can you get out of the way . Give him a bit of assistance. Ive known nick 22 years. I know him better than anybody. Do you at this moment in time still claim youre Arthur Knight . Organ plays im born and raised in rhode island. Ive been a priest 27 years. I am kind of a known entity as the spokesman for the Catholic Church at the state house. That was where you first came into contact with Nicholas Alahverdian . Yes, so nicholas was a page. My interaction with him over those years was to say, hello, how are you . Thats about it. Church choir sings. The next was, it was reported in the news media here that he had died. And i remembered him. And then i would say it was a few months after that story came out that i received a phone call. She said her name was, i believe, louise, that she was nicholass wife. Bells ring. That he had died. And would i ever consider having a mass in his memory . And then as i was reflecting on that, i received a phone call from a detective in the Rhode Island State Police who said, father, i understand that youre having a Memorial Mass for nicholas ala hverdian. He isnt really dead. Hes faked his own death. Also asked the detective, i said, well, his wife, widow, called me. He said, well, thats not the widow. That was actually him. The priest wasnt the only one getting calls. I ended up getting contacted by his so called wife, so. Do you think it was a genuine woman on the other end of the phone . To the best of my knowledge, it was. It was a woman. It was a woman. Accent . English. And she would just basically go on about the Memorial Service and tell me how much nicholas loved me, and thats all he ever talked about. And whoever this person was knew a lot about me. Nicholas alahverdian was born in 1987 in the state of rhode island. One of three children, his mother, diana, divorced his father, jack, in 1990. In 1996, she remarried, this time to a part time Engelbert Humperdinck impersonator called david rossi. Michael, just tell me your relationship with nicholas. Nicholas is my nephew. Hes my brotherjacks son. It was tough when my brother and his wife at the time divorced. I had no contact with any of them for many, many years. So, like, 15 years, i guess. Where does rossi come from . Rossi is the stepfathers name. He adopted nicholas and nicholas siblings. The regret is that myself, my family, were never contacted when he was put into dcyf care. Whatever has happened to him and the type of person he has changed into could have been avoided by simply saying, hey, do you want to take these children in . And i would have. And i think things would have changed. As a young teenager, he was staying in different shelters and group homes run by the dcyf the department of children, youth and families. A state run Agency Responsible for Child Welfare. During the day, he volunteered at the state house. At the time, brian coogan was a local politician. Well, he kind of weaselled his way into. Into yourface, like, hey, im nick alahverdian. You know, im in dcyf custody, he would tell us. He would come with these bruises and scrapes and cuts on him, you know, whether its face, or he would lift up his shirt, show us his arm, hed have cuts. And one time he showed his side, you know, he said one kid tried to stab him. I get a phone call from him one day. Hes down the courthouse, that he had to see the chief judge, jeremiahjeremiah. He called me very frantic, very upset. Can you come down here and adopt me . The state of Rhode Islands trying to get rid of me because im exposing dcyf. And i was like, whoa, i dont even know what youre talking about, but lets go see the chiefjudge. Well work it all out. The judge leans in. It was at his desk. He goes, rep, what are you really here for . Youre really not going to adopt this kid, are you . I said, yeah, well take him. He goes, i cant let you adopt him. And i said, why not . And the judge said, you really dont know whats going on, do you . Isaid, no. He said, this kid is a very, very troubled kid. To begin with, his experience of the care system was limited to his home state of rhode island. But later, nicholas was moved to out of state facilities, firstly in nebraska, in the us midwest, and then to florida. He was sent from place to place, from state to state. He was physically abused, mentally abused. Um, went through some beatings and tough times, just tough times in general. These are the stories that he told me later. Do you believe them . I do. In 2011, Nicholas Alahverdian attempted to sue all those he says were involved in his care. He came back with a vengeance. He started suing the state of rhode island, the governor, the speaker of the house. In federal court. Every day you were beaten . Every day in florida,. Every day in nebraska, every day in rhode island. This is 12 news now at six. Target 12 investigator tim white is here now with the latest developments. We did a lot of reporting on his multiple lawsuits. Nicholas alahverdian of rhode island. He alleged physical abuse. He alleged sexual abuse, and, of course, made the claim that the liability fell on the agency for not properly protecting him. Again, the Agency Denied that. They said they followed all the proper protocols but in the end decided to reach a settlement with the plaintiff, with Nicholas Alahverdian, to put it to bed. I was sent out of state. The lawsuit brought money, but also a degree of fame. The pageboy who grew up in state care returning to the state house as a Child Welfare campaigner. That these facilities are dangerous. She says, ill confirm december third. So youre going to win on tuesday . Of course. A cop by trade, ray hull is a State Politician who worked closely with nicholas ala hverdian. He was the type of individual that, when he got ahold of you, he stayed with you, much like a pit bull. A lot of pit bulls, you know, they lock onto you and they dont let go. You say he was tenacious. Did you ever see a temper . Yeah, yeah, yeah. And ijust attributed it to his advocacy. Nicholas on recording dont yell at me. I didnt do anything woman im not yelling at you. Yeah, you are i met nick at church. I had recentlyjust converted to the latter day saint church. Let me see your phone, please. Kathryn mumbles. Why are you treating me this way . And how did your relationship develop from there . It developed very quickly. We were sitting on the couch watching tv and he just turns to me and says, we should get married. What . Like, weve only known each other for about six months. Give me your phone. He screams stop ignoring me i knew this was rushed. He broke me down and we got married without telling anybody. And that was the next day where he first hit me, right after we were married. Nicholas married Kathryn Heckendorn in dayton, ohio, a place he knew. After leaving care, hed lived there for a while with his Foster Parents. The marriage lasted seven months. How bad did things get for you . He liked things his way. And if he didnt get his way, he would. Have a temper, get violent, even with strangers. Always threatening, like, lawsuits, or, do you know who i am . You know what i can do to you . And. Yeah, his voice, when he would get angry, it will always. Stay with me. A month into their marriage, nicholas was arrested for domestic violence. The following year, a Court Granted kathryn a divorce, the judge accusing her husband of gross neglect of duty and cruelty. Out let me out well, the recording helped a lot in court. And also the fact that nick never showed up. The divorce itself took well over a year. They never knew where to serve him cos he had fled. Did you have any sense of his past life and what hed done . I slowly figured stuff out. It wasnt until after we were married he told me that he was a registered sex offender. I Start Talking to this detective after nick was arrested. He told me, he is a dangerous man. Hes wanted in numerous states. So i actually met Nicholas Rossi in 2008. We met on myspace. He messaged me. Mary was still a teenager when she met nicholas for lunch on this College Campus in dayton. Afterwards, he offered to walk her to class. He was almost like a dr jekyll mr hyde kind of type. He just. He keeps trying to kiss me and im not into it. During that point, somebody comes down into the stairway and they see him on top of me. I went to the police and i filed a complaint. He did get found guilty of Public Indecency and a sexual imposition charge. There was a fine. There was some jail time, but it was suspended. And then he had to register as a sex offender for 15 years. What happened on that College Campus in january 2008 would have lasting implications. A man suspected in a Sexual Assault case in utah years ago is now in Police Custody in scotland tonight. The evidence gathered when Rossi Assaulted Mary would provide a breakthrough for prosecutors investigating an alleged rape in the state of utah. This Case Sat Cold In utah from 2008 until about 2019, when we entered the evidence from a rape kit that had sat on the shelf into the database. And that allowed us to get a hit on a man named Nicholas Rossi. Nicholas rossi has gone by a variety of names over the years, one being Nicholas Alahverdian. Now, according to. Rossis utah connections are explained by his Foster Parents faith. Salt lake city is the headquarters of the mormon church. The allegation is that in september 2008, nine months after the Sinclair College assault, he attacked a former girlfriend. As the authorities in utah were pulling the case against rossi together, back in rhode island, phones were starting to ring. Rep, how are you . I said, how are you, nicholas . Im in france, or europe somewhere. I think he said france first. I said, whats going on . Well, i had to leave the country. I get another call. Hes still in europe. Hes ill now at this point. Maybe two weeks after that, hes really ill. And he. This is the last time i spoke to him. Its nick. I said, yeah, i know, nick, its you. But he has a raspy voice. He goes, im dying. Im dying. I said, nick, youre not dying. Cockroaches dont die. Radio local news and information on wpro, providence. Nicholas alahverdian, he grew up in foster care here, here in rhode island. He has passed away from a long battle with cancer. Nicholas alahverdian was 32. An obituary that appeared online claimed Nicholas Alahverdian had been cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. His final words. At first i was happy. And then i was angry, very angry that he was never held accountable. And then. I laughed because all within a second i feel all this. And im like, hes not dead. Michael alahverdian had no reason to doubt his nephew was dead until the day he buried his brother jack. I go to his funeral, bury him. I get home, and on the news is that nicholas was found alive. And im like, wait a minute, is this a dream or a nightmare . These two things happening together, same day. Proceed. Then later on, Ifind Out Nick is alive. Hes in glasgow. Is that right . I said, i dont believe it. I was like, wow. This is the man the american authorities want to extradite to face the allegations in utah. I just. Yeah. Ill be here and i can hold you. Just dont fall over. He says he needs the wheelchair and the oxygen tank as he recovers from covid. So i have to hold his full weight. Right. Do you see . Yeah, we see. Dont. He pants. Arthur knight was arrested in December 2021 in a glasgow hospital ward. Stop please stop stop it the Courthouse Theatrics were a feature of the months that followed. He took every opportunity to tell anyone whod listen he was an innocent victim of mistaken identity. We need to address what happened in court today. It violates the. Im the one asking the questions. Mr rossi im not mr rossi at all. Ok, then. Your oxygen mask is not connected. Tell me a little bit about your background, arthur. He tells me hes an orphan who escaped the irish care system and sold books in piccadilly circus. Marriage to miranda came in 2020. We got married in bristol. A decade after they first met, he claims. And while theres no Birth Certificate among his pile of documents, there is a wedding certificate accompanied by a special Marriage License from the archbishop of canterbury. Im not Nicholas Rossi. The couple say they moved to glasgow after leaving bristol in 2021. The us Authorities Say that the story that youve just told me is a load of rubbish and that youre Nicholas Rossi. The truth, according to the us authorities, is that Nicholas Rossi left america in 2017 and flew initially to dublin. Police records show that in the period leading up to his departure, he was being investigated for id theft and Credit Card Fraud worth 200,000 after his Foster Parents accused him of betraying them in the worst possible way. Injune that year, hes in england. These photos were taken during a brief relationship that began online and ended with alleged behaviour that led essex police to investigate a rape claim. Are you a rapist . 11 months after his arrest and facing a second Rape Allegation in utah, an edinburgh sheriff was asked to settle the question of identity. In their evidence, the hospital staff that treated Arthur Knight for covid said they recognised him from the interpol wanted notice issued for Nicholas Rossi. It included mug shots taken by a Rhode Island Police force whod been frequent callers to his apartment around 2010. The photographs from pawtucket also included images of rossis distinctive tattoos. We heard in court, though, that you were identified by tattoos. Is it worth seeing your left forearm . Yeah, yeah, but could i. . Could i. . I mean, could you just raise up. . And alsojust looking at the oxygen, and were getting a little bit low as well. Taking the oath as Arthur Knight, he told the court hed woken from a coma to discover that tattoos had suddenly appeared on his body. He said his fingerprints matched rossis because an nhs worker had illegally passed them to the prosecutor in utah. The sheriff said those claims were implausible and fanciful. I am ultimately satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, by the evidence of fingerprint, photographic, and tattoo evidence taken together, supported by the evidence of changes of name, that mr knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition by the united states. And you were always absolutely certain it was him . 100 . I was the whistle blower. Ive known nick 22 years. I know him better than anybody. If you show me that one, if thats ok . Kathryn its frustrating that he still continues to deny hes Nicholas Rossi ala hverdian. If hes still pulling that charade, hes the dumb one. There was one picture i saw, hes in red silky pyjamas. Those were the same pyjamas he wore when i was with him. You think those were the exact same . The exact. I dont think, i know those were the exact same pjs. Do you at this moment in time. Still claim youre Arthur Knight . Goodbye and thank you. The months that followed were just as surreal, with rossi held on remand in edinburgh. The utah prosecutor he accused of orchestrating a conspiracy against him bought a castle on the banks of a scottish loch. I charged him with rape after he faked his death, and i did that knowing that i was not charging a dead man. I dont have any ill will towards Nicholas Rossi. Nicholas rossi was a victim of crimes against him before he was a criminal himself. Nicholas rossi is the subject of such Media Attention not because of the crime he committed, but because of the outrageous ways in which he has sought to avoid responsibility for those crimes. Steven, steven. No, no. Nicholas rossi has gotten off for decades with this kind of behaviour. The message in this