In a courtroom in Salt Lake City this week, the dramatic saga of Nicholas Rossi—also known as Nicholas Alahverdian—entered a new phase as his long-delayed trial for rape charges finally began. The case, which has captured international attention due to Rossi’s extraordinary efforts to evade justice, features allegations of sexual assault, a faked death, and multiple aliases that span continents and years.
Rossi, 38, stands accused of sexually assaulting two women in Utah in 2008, with the first of the two cases now underway in Salt Lake County. According to prosecutors, Rossi used his charm and cunning to manipulate and exploit vulnerable women, a pattern they allege culminated in rape. Rossi, who has pleaded not guilty, maintains his innocence and claims the accusations are rooted in resentment and misunderstanding.
The story took a dramatic turn in 2021, when Rossi was discovered alive in Scotland—a year after an obituary had declared him dead from late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hospital staff in Glasgow recognized him while he was being treated for COVID-19, matching his distinctive tattoos to those on an Interpol wanted notice. Despite his claims that he was an Irishman named Arthur Knight who had never set foot in the United States, Scottish authorities were not convinced. Sheriff Norman McFadyen, the Scottish judge overseeing his extradition case, described Rossi as “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative,” and ultimately ruled that he be sent back to the U.S. to face trial.
Prosecutors allege that Rossi went to great lengths to avoid capture, employing at least a dozen aliases over the years. According to the New York Post, he even claimed that the tattoos identifying him as Rossi had been inked on his body while he was in a coma, as part of a bizarre conspiracy to frame him. These attempts to dodge accountability only added to the intrigue surrounding his case.
On Monday, Rossi appeared in the Salt Lake City courtroom in a wheelchair, dressed in a suit and tie, and breathing through an oxygen tank. The alleged victim, whose identity is being withheld, identified him from the witness stand, noting that he appeared “a little bit heavier, a little bit older,” but otherwise unchanged. She described a whirlwind relationship that began in November 2008, when she responded to a Facebook ad Rossi had posted. The two quickly became engaged, but the relationship soon soured as Rossi allegedly became controlling and verbally abusive. “I was a little bit more of a timid person back then, and so it was harder for me to stand up for myself,” she told the court, according to the New York Post.
The woman testified that after a heated argument in a parking garage—during which Rossi pounded on her car and physically blocked her from leaving—she reluctantly agreed to drive him home. Once there, she said, Rossi pushed her onto his bed and “forced me to have sex with him,” as she lay still, paralyzed with fear. She added that her parents discouraged her from going to the police at the time, and that she later attempted but dropped a small claims court case over their engagement rings.
Rossi’s defense team, led by attorney MacKenzie Potter, argued that the accusations were made years later out of lingering resentment. “This case is like an old puzzle from the thrift store,” Potter said in court. “It’s 13 years old, not all the pieces are there, some pieces are from a different puzzle. And when you start going through everything, you’re not going to get a complete picture.” Prosecutors countered that any missing evidence was the result of efforts by Rossi’s legal team to dismiss or exclude it.
Meanwhile, the trial has also heard testimony regarding the second alleged victim, known as KP, whose case is scheduled for trial in September in Utah County. KP, who was 21 at the time, told the court she met Rossi on MySpace in August 2008 and began a brief relationship with him. She recounted spending time at his apartment in Orem, Utah, and discovering that he had used her credit card without permission to purchase a $400 computer. When she confronted him about the unauthorized charges, Rossi claimed he would pay her back. The relationship ended after about four weeks, with KP citing Rossi’s “belittling” behavior and suggestions that she needed “mental help.”
Despite the end of their romantic involvement, KP said she remained in contact with Rossi, who later invited her to his apartment under the pretense of repaying the debt. Once there, Rossi admitted he did not have the money, then began performing a sex act on himself. When KP tried to leave, she testified, Rossi pulled down her clothing, pinned her to a piece of furniture, and raped her. “I was distraught,” she told the court, recalling that the encounter lasted about a minute and that Rossi dismissed her concerns about not using a condom, telling her it “wasn’t a big deal.” KP fled to a friend’s house in Provo and later reported the incident to police. An officer subsequently delivered the money Rossi owed her.
In a twist, Rossi contacted police himself on September 16, 2008, alleging that KP had raped him. In a voluntary witness statement read in court, Rossi claimed KP had, on multiple occasions, “forced him down and kissed him regardless of him saying ‘no’,” and that she would “forcefully engage him into sexual acts” as a way of “getting her money back.” He further alleged that KP would stay at his house for extended periods despite his requests for her to leave, and that she had a friend threaten him with violence. Throughout his statement, Rossi denied ever sexually assaulting anyone.
The prosecution’s case in the Salt Lake County trial has now concluded, with the trial set to continue in the coming weeks. Rossi’s next court appearance, for the Utah County case, is scheduled for September. The complexity of the allegations, the passage of time, and the defendant’s elaborate efforts to evade justice have made this one of the most watched criminal trials in recent Utah history.
As the proceedings unfold, the courtroom has become a stage for competing narratives—one of manipulation and abuse, the other of false accusations and a man fighting for his identity. The jury’s task is to sift through years of conflicting stories, missing evidence, and emotional testimony to reach a verdict. For the alleged victims, the hope is that their voices will finally be heard after nearly two decades of waiting.
With the legal process now moving forward, all eyes remain on Salt Lake City as the trial of Nicholas Rossi continues to unravel a story as complex and astonishing as any crime novel.