Nicholas Rossi, the American fugitive who faked cancer and fled to Scotland to avoid jail, has died aged 38. The Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) confirmed that he died in a local hospital on Thursday night from complications of an existing medical condition after choosing to discontinue medical treatment. The department said he had been suffering from “chronic, degenerative conditions” while in custody.
The Elaborate Deception
Rossi’s effort to evade justice was built on an extraordinary web of lies. After being charged following his identification through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018, he posted an online obituary in 2020 claiming he had succumbed to late‑stage non‑Hodgkin lymphoma. In reality, that same year he married a woman he met in Bristol, England, and the couple moved to Glasgow, Scotland.
When he was finally arrested, Rossi insisted he was the victim of mistaken identity, claiming to be an Irish‑born orphan named Arthur Knight who had never been to the United States. He used a string of aliases — including Nicholas Alahverdian, Arthur Brown and Nicholas Brown — and his distinctive tattoos helped confirm his true identity. At his trials, he appeared in a wheelchair and on oxygen, portraying himself as gravely ill.
Medical professionals who assessed Rossi during his time in custody expressed doubts about the extent of his claimed conditions. One psychiatrist noted that Rossi “invited” diagnoses of psychiatric problems and that his use of a wheelchair and oxygen appeared unnecessary. Despite those doubts, the Utah Department of Corrections stated that he suffered from “chronic, degenerative conditions” and that his death resulted from complications after he elected to discontinue treatment.
A History of Abuse and Flight
Rossi’s criminal record stretched back years and across continents. In 2008, he raped two women in Utah. He was found guilty of both rapes at separate trials last year and was sentenced to five years to life for each conviction, the terms to run consecutively. The judge described him as “a serial abuser of women” and “the very definition of a flight risk”. Rossi denied the allegations, claiming the women were “lying”.
Beyond the sex offences, he faced fraud charges in Ohio and was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in Rhode Island. He had also been arrested in Essex, England, in connection with an alleged non‑recent rape in 2017.
One of his victims, who bravely gave evidence in his trial, was praised for her “courage in confronting [Rossi] years after the attack took place”. She told the court: “This is not a plea for vengeance. This is a plea for safety and accountability, for recognition of the damage that will never fully heal.” She said he had left a “trail of fear, pain and destruction” behind him.
Capture and Extradition
Rossi’s time on the run ended in December 2021 when staff at a Glasgow hospital recognised him from a police “wanted” notice as he was receiving treatment for Covid‑19. Despite his persistent claims of mistaken identity, an Edinburgh court ruled in November 2022 that he was indeed Nicholas Rossi, and an extradition warrant was signed. After a lengthy legal battle, he was finally sent to the United States in January 2024.
The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed that the notification of his death followed communication with Rossi’s family and his victims. Medical professionals who assessed him had doubted the extent of his claimed conditions, but the department stated that he died from complications of an existing medical condition after he chose to discontinue medical treatment.
