Rossi to appear provisionally in rape trial

SALT LAKE CITY – Nicholas Rossi, once one of the world's most wanted fugitives, is scheduled to return to a Salt Lake City courtroom Thursday to attend a preliminary hearing in his rape trial.

Rossi's previous appearances in Utah courtrooms have made headlines in their own right; a judge even issued a reasonable force order earlier this year to ensure he actually showed up.

Rossi, whose real name is Nicholas Alahverdian, was extradited from Scotland in January, years after he allegedly faked his own death and fled to Europe. Rossi left the U.S. after being identified as a suspect in a rape case in Orem in 2008.

In several court appearances in Utah this year, Rossi adopted a British accent that was heard in and out of context, and claimed that his real name was Arthur Knight and that he was not the man authorities were looking for.

At a virtual hearing in January, court officials could not understand Rossi because he insisted on speaking while wearing an oxygen mask. He then reprimanded the judge before being asked to stop talking.

“Objection, my lady!” Rossi replied. “This is pure hearsay and I would like to ask Her Ladyship and the prosecution to explain to me why I…” before he was interrupted by the judge.

Before being repatriated to the United States, Rossi claimed he was actually an Irish orphan and that authorities had framed him by taking his fingerprints while he was in a coma in order to link him to Rossi.