Man Faked His Own Death to Hide from Authorities, Found Alive After Getting Hospitalized For COVID-19

One man who managed to fake his death and hide from the law to evade multiple crimes was found in Scotland. He was quickly stripped off of his temporary freedom after a mishap.

Nicholas Rossi has used different names to hide his identity. He also goes for other names like Nicholas Alahverdian, Nicholas Alahverdian Rossi, Nicholas Edward Rossi, Nicholas Alahverdian-Rossi, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown, Arthur Brown, and Arthur Knight.

Rossi was a suspect in a sexual assault case in Utah in 2008. County Attorney David O. Leavitt said that the sexual assault kit from that incident was submitted for DNA testing in 2017. Surprisingly, a match was found in another sexual assault case in Ohio in which Rossi was also a suspect.

The attorney added, “Our office is grateful for the significant interagency collaboration of law enforcement to bring this suspect to justice. We credit Utah’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant funded through the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance as playing a significant role in testing backlogged kits and ultimately identifying the suspect.”

According to a news release from the Utah County, Utah, prosecutor’s office, the victim was found and approved that the suspect should be prosecuted. This prompted the charges against Nicholas Rossi to be filed.

Aside from this, reports say that Rossi has also been linked to a number of other crimes across multiple states. This includes opening at least 22 credit cards and loans under his foster mother’s husband’s name. The total debt racked up to almost $200,000 in debt.

After he became a suspect in the 2008 Ohio case, Rossi fled the country and faked his death. He even announced that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and only had weeks to live. It was in February 2020 when his death was announced. As it turned out, it was all fake and was only to deceive the authorities who were after him.

But as they say, you can never run away from the law.

In a somewhat ironic turn of events, Rossi was found in Glasgow, Scotland. He got COVID-19 and ended up in the ICU where he nearly lost his life.

Rhode Island State Police Maj. Robert A. Creamer said, “He was located in Scotland about a month ago, where he was on a ventilator.”

The Scottish authorities immediately worked with the U.S. authorities to help detain and monitor Nicholas Rossi. That time, the 34-year-old was going by the name Arthur Knight.

The Scottish Sun reports that a source said: “It’s a very bizarre set of circumstances. Police attended the ward on behalf of their colleagues in the States. Once it was established Knight was who they were looking for, a cop was stationed at his door non-stop. He was officially arrested in connection with the Interpol red notice and then the fiscal became involved to begin the extradition process back to America.”

Rossi’s former wife, Kathryn Heckendorn, was impressed that he was finally caught after all these years. Rossi also scammed her more than $60,000. She said, “At first I didn’t believe it. I said this has to be Nick; he probably hired someone to get in touch with me to scope out the situation, because that’s the very special kind of deception he would do.”

Rossi’s past has finally caught up with him. This time, he can no longer run away from the law, thanks to the partnership of law enforcement domestically and abroad.