Current:Home > InvestSuspected American fugitive who allegedly faked death insists he is Irish orphan in bizarre interview -CapitalWay
Suspected American fugitive who allegedly faked death insists he is Irish orphan in bizarre interview
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:13:34
A man believed to be Nicholas Alahverdian, a U.S. citizen who allegedly faked his own death to escape rape allegations, insisted he is instead an Irish-born orphan named Arthur Knight during a recent interview in Scotland that has gone viral.
On April 21, NBC's "Dateline" aired the interview in an episode about the case. Alahverdian, 35, was charged in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah.
Officials say Alahverdian, who also goes by the alias Nicholas Rossi, has spent more than a year fighting extradition to the United States from Scotland after he was arrested on rape charges in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19. Authorities identified him through fingerprints and tattoos.
Who was this man? Well, law enforcement, international media, and Dateline have spent months trying to find out...
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) April 22, 2023
Watch tonight at 9/8c on an all-new 2-hour #Dateline. pic.twitter.com/KdgnUb1cga
The man vehemently denied being Alahverdian to police and says he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never been to the U.S.
A clip of the interview with "Dateline" correspondent Andrea Canning recently went viral. Sitting alongside his wife, Miranda Knight, the man insists he is a victim of mistaken identity.
"We were once a normal family, but thanks to the media our lives have been interrupted," he says, gasping into an oxygen mask in a strange accent. "And we'd like privacy and I would like to go back to being a normal husband, but I can't because I can't breathe, I can't walk. People say that's an act. Let me try and stand up…"
Then, in a bizarre move, he tries to prove he is not faking his disability by dramatically attempting to stand up, flailing around before being caught by his wife, as he says: "Exactly, exactly,"
When asked if he was lying about his current identity, he exclaims: "I am not Nicholas Alahverdian! I do not know how to make this clearer!"
In addition to his pending Utah rape charge, authorities in Rhode Island have said Alahverdian is also wanted in their state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
Alahverdian was born in Rhode Island and after a tumultuous childhood he became an outspoken critic of Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families, reported The Providence Journal. He testified before state lawmakers about being sexually abused and tortured while in foster care.
Then in 2020, he told local media he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. An obituary published online claimed he died on Feb. 29, 2020.
But by last year, Rhode Island state police, Alahverdian's former lawyer and former foster family were publicly doubting whether he actually died.
Since his arrest in Scotland, the suspect has made several court appearances and fired at least six lawyers — all while insisting he isn't Nicholas Rossi. He is, he says, Arthur Knight.
- In:
- Scotland
- Ireland
veryGood! (85742)
Related
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Why Gabrielle Union Thinks She and Dwyane Wade Should Be Posting Farts After 10 Years of Marriage
- Jenna Bush Hager Says Anna Wintour Asked Her and Hoda Kotb to “Quiet Down” at U.S. Open
- Texas school districts say upgrades to the state’s student data reporting system could hurt funding
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Rebecca Cheptegei Case: Ex Accused of Setting Olympian on Fire Dies From Injuries Sustained in Attack
- 15-year-old North Dakota runaway shot, killed in Las Vegas while suspect FaceTimed girl
- West Virginia governor to call on lawmakers to consider child care and tax proposals this month
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Beyoncé talks music, whiskey, family — and why no 'Cowboy Carter' visuals — in GQ
Ranking
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Most students in a Georgia school district hit by a shooting will return to class Tuesday
- Courts in Nebraska and Missouri weigh arguments to keep abortion measures off the ballot
- Cash aid for new moms: What to know about the expanding program in Michigan
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Aaron Rodgers documentary set to stream on Netflix in December
- Congress honors 13 troops killed during Kabul withdrawal as politics swirl around who is to blame
- Manhunt continues for Joseph Couch, Kentucky man accused of I-75 shooting rampage
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Francine gains strength and is expected to be a hurricane when it reaches US Gulf Coast
Dolphins' Tyreek Hill being detained serves as painful reminder it could have been worse
Why Kelly Ripa Gets Temporarily Blocked By Her Kids on Instagram
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Kentucky bourbon icon Jimmy Russell celebrates his 70th anniversary at Wild Turkey
Shilo Sanders, Colorado safety and Deion Sanders' son, undergoes forearm surgery
Aaron Rodgers will make his return to the field for the Jets against the 49ers