• A Rhode Island fugitive who faked his death has been convicted in his first Utah rape trial.
• Jurors found Nicholas Rossi guilty of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in 2008.
• He faces a second rape trial next month and other pending charges in multiple states.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (TDR) — Nicholas Rossi, the Rhode Island man accused of faking his death to avoid prosecution, was found guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in 2008 during the first of two Utah rape trials. The verdict followed three days of testimony, including accounts from the victim and her parents, and came just hours after Rossi declined to take the stand in his own defense.

Decade-Old Case Finally Reaches Court

Prosecutors said Rossi’s conviction was the culmination of a years-long effort sparked when DNA evidence from a previously untested rape kit identified him in 2018. Utah had launched an aggressive campaign to clear its rape kit backlog, which connected Rossi—whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian—to multiple assaults. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill praised the survivor for coming forward, calling her testimony an act of “courage and bravery.”

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Jurors heard how Rossi met the woman while she was recovering from a traumatic brain injury and responded to his Craigslist personal ad. Their whirlwind relationship—engagement within two weeks—quickly devolved into financial manipulation, verbal abuse, and ultimately, the assault.

The Survivor’s Account

The victim described being pressured to cover dates, pay for car repairs, lend Rossi $1,000, and even take on debt for engagement rings. After a heated argument, Rossi blocked her from leaving a parking garage, then convinced her to return to his home under the guise of “talking.” Instead, she testified, he pushed her onto the bed, restrained her, and forced her to have sex, leaving her frozen in fear.

At the time, dismissive comments from her parents discouraged her from contacting police. It wasn’t until a decade later—after seeing Rossi in the news linked to another rape case—that she decided to report the assault.

Flight, Deception, and Arrest

Months after being charged in Utah County for another 2008 rape, an online obituary claimed Rossi died of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma in February 2020. However, Rhode Island police, his former attorney, and foster family doubted the story. In 2021, he was located in a Glasgow hospital while being treated for COVID-19, after staff recognized his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice.

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Rossi, extradited to Utah in January 2024, insisted he was “Arthur Knight,” an Irish orphan framed by authorities. Investigators say he used at least a dozen aliases to evade capture.

Prosecutors vs. Defense Strategy

Throughout the trial, prosecutors framed Rossi as a calculating manipulator who preyed on a vulnerable woman. His defense argued the accuser fabricated the rape out of resentment over financial disputes during their monthlong relationship. Laura Loomer, a figure who has commented on Rossi in the past, has not been directly tied to this trial but exemplifies the polarizing public discourse around his case.

A second accuser, the complainant in the upcoming Utah County trial, testified Tuesday that Rossi attacked her in his Orem apartment in September 2008 when she came to collect stolen money. Police records indicate Rossi initially claimed she raped him and threatened to have him killed.

A History of Criminal Allegations

Rossi’s criminal history stretches beyond Utah. Raised in foster homes in Rhode Island, he faced charges there for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has also connected him to fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related offenses in 2008.

He now faces the possibility of life in prison, with sentencing in this case set for October 20. His second Utah rape trial is scheduled for September. First-degree felony rape in Utah carries a mandatory minimum of five years behind bars, but the severity of his record could weigh heavily in the sentencing phase.

Will Rossi’s second trial deliver another conviction, or will the defense find a way to fracture the prosecution’s narrative?

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