American wanted over 'sex assault' found in Scots hospital on ventilator with Covid
Glasgow hospital sees Utah sex assault suspect arrested while on ventilator
By Hamish Morrison
INTERNATIONAL ARREST
An American suspected of sexual assault who police believe faked his own death has reportedly turned up alive on a ventilator in a Scottish hospital.
Nicholas Alahverdian, 34, from Rhode Island, USA, has allegedly been on the run since 2020, when his wife claimed he died of cancer.
He was wanted in connection with an alleged sexual assault in the state of Utah, police confirmed to The Providence Journal.
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The paper gave his name as Alahverdian and claimed he was operating under the name Nicoholas Rossi when he was in Utah in 2008.
The Utah County Attorney's office said that DNA evidence recorded from a previous arrest had linked Alahverdian with an alleged sexual assault in the state from 2018.
He was arrested by Police Scotland officers at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, on Wednesday December 13.
A spokesperson for the Utah County Attorney's office said: "Investigators also learned that Nicholas Rossi had fled the country to avoid prosecution in Ohio and attempted to lead investigators and state legislators in other states to believe that he was deceased.
"He has been taken into custody and the Utah County Attorney's Office is working with federal and international agencies to extradite Mr. Rossi back to Utah."
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It is further alleged Alahverdian faced fraud and extortion complaints in Utah and Ohio, including allegedly obtaining 22 credit cards and loans in the name of his former foster mother's husband's name - running debts of almost $200,000.
The paper also claimed he owed his ex-wife Kathryn Heckendorn more than $60,000.
Details of the arrest were reported in the Scottish Sun earlier this week, who named Alahverdian as Arthur Knight.
He faced extradition proceedings via videolink from a makeshift court set up in his hospital room, according to a source who tipped off the paper.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Officers arrested a 34-year-old man in Glasgow on Monday, December 13, in connection with an international arrest warrant.
"A report was submitted to the procurator fiscal."
A spokesman for the Crown Office in Scotland said: "Arthur Knight appeared via videolink from QEUH on Thursday, December 23, 2021, in relation to extradition proceedings for the US.
"No future dates have yet been fixed."