Rape convict Nicholas Rossi dies after choosing to discontinue medical treatment

By: Ava Hart

Originally Published: Jun 26, 2026 / 10:04 AM MDT

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Nicholas Rossi, the man who was extradited from Scotland to Utah and found guilty of rape twice, has died.

Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is convicted of faking his death to escape rape charges in Salt Lake County and Utah County. Rossi insisted that prosecutors had the wrong man, and that he was actually a man named Arthur Knight. Nicholas Rossi sentenced to five years to life in second rape case

In October 2025, Rossi was found guilty of first-degree felony rape of a 24-year-old woman. He was sentenced in Salt Lake County to five years to life in prison.

One month later, in November 2025, Rossi was sentenced to five years to life in prison for a second rape conviction in Utah County, to be served consecutively with his first conviction.

The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed that Rossi died in a local hospital on June 25, 2026, at 8:32 p.m. at age 38. He passed away from complications of an existing medical condition after choosing to discontinue medical treatment.

Rossi was serving a cumulative sentence of 10 years to life for two counts of First-Degree Felony Rape.