Nicholas Rossi’s accusations of mistaken identification are deemed “scandalous” and “implausible and fantastical” by Sheriff Norman McFadyen.
The first time a judge has found that a man apprehended on a COVID ward in Scotland is an American rape suspect who faked his death.
The court sheriff has determined that the individual identifying himself as Arthur Knight is Nicholas Rossi.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen stated, “I am ultimately satisfied on the balance of probabilities, based on the evidence of fingerprint, photographic, and tattoo evidence, taken together, and supported by the evidence of name changes, that Mr. Knight is Nicholas Rossi, the individual sought for extradition by the United States.”
The 35-year-accusations old’s of mistaken identity were deemed “scandalous” and “implausible and ridiculous” by him.
In addition to being wanted in connection with sex assaults on three women in Utah, Rossi is suspected of committing a variety of other crimes across the United States.
Authorities claim he fled the United States to evade punishment and attempted to deceive investigators into believing he was dead; he even attempted to conduct a false funeral service in his honor.
In December 2021, however, he was tracked via an Interpol arrest order to a hospital in Glasgow where he was receiving treatment for COVID-19.
Since his arrest, he has maintained that he is the victim of mistaken identity, that his name is Arthur Knight, and that he has never visited the United States.
Fingerprints and tattoos are two forms of identification.
Today, however, officials at Edinburgh Sheriff Court determined that this story was incorrect and that he was the individual sought by US authorities.
This week, three days of testimony were presented as attorneys attempted to determine the man’s true identity.
Advocate Depute Paul Harvey presented ten witnesses, including medical personnel, police officers, and fingerprint experts, all of whom were sure that the guy they had met in Glasgow was the man named by the Americans as Rossi.
Two fingerprint specialists from Police Scotland determined that “Arthur Knight’s” fingerprints were “identical” to those of Rossi.
A nurse at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow reported “distinctive” tattoos on her patient’s biceps, which matched pictures published by Interpol as part of the manhunt.
Strange assertions are ‘fantastical’
During his defense, the wanted guy presented a series of odd explanations for the biometric evidence presented in court.
He told the sheriff that he had no tattoos before hospitalization and that he “awoke” from a coma to discover that his body had been inked while he was unconscious.
In another bizarre turn of events, he claimed that the fingerprints on the Interpol warrant only matched his because they were obtained by a Glasgow NHS staff. He stated that an unidentified someone named “Patrick” stole his fingerprints while he was asleep and then gave them to a corrupt official in Utah, who subsequently forwarded them to Interpol.
Sheriff McFadyen stated that Rossi’s claim that he awoke from a coma to discover that he had been tattooed was “equally… if not more absurd and imaginative” as his claim that an NHS employee took his fingerprints for US prosecutors while he was in intensive care.
The sheriff continued, in response to Rossi’s assurance that he was Arthur Knight and not the guy wanted in the United States: “Multiple permutations of the name change strike me as quite suspect. This is consistent with someone hiding from someone or something, in my opinion.”
The prosecution described Rossi’s sequence of odd claims, justifications, and delaying tactics as “completely fantastical” and “outlandish,” suggesting there was no question the guy in court was Rossi himself.
Rossi looked to cry and wheeze at one point during the proceedings, characterizing his experience in a Scottish prison as “difficult and nightmarish.”
He whispered “I love you” to his wife Miranda, who has supported him and maintains that her husband Arthur is a victim of mistaken identity.
US extradition attempt
This has been one of the most peculiar cases ever heard in a Scottish court.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen’s verdict today putting an end to the identification dispute eliminates any indication of the existence of the pseudonym “Arthur Knight,” and sets the way for full extradition proceedings, which are anticipated to begin next year.
Officials in the United States want him extradited to stand trial.
