Serialously with Annie Elise
254: The Cringy and UNHINGED Case of Nicholas Rossi: From Most Wanted to Most Embarrassing
Mon, 24 Mar 2025
He faked his own death, fled the country, and tried to reinvent himself—complete with an over-the-top British accent and a fake coma. But when authorities caught up with Nicholas Rossi, his elaborate lies unraveled in the most embarrassing way possible. How did a once-wanted fugitive become the star of one of the cringiest true crime sagas ever? Buckle up—this case is wilder than fiction Join our True Crime Club for access to BTS, Bonus Content, Our Private Group Chat, Giveaways and More! Shop Our True Crime Merch Follow the podcast on: IG, Facebook and TikTok For Business Inquiries: [email protected] About Annie Today’s Sponsors: Beam: Go to shopbeam.com/ANNIEELISE and use code ANNIEELISE at checkout for up to 40% off. Quince: Go to Quince.com/ae for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order. Episode Sources: BBC CBS News CNN FOX 13 News NBC News NBC 10 WJAR The Scottish Sun STV News WPRI Wikipedia
Chapter 1: Who is Nicholas Rossi and what led to his arrest in Scotland?
Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. In January of 2022, 34-year-old Arthur Knight woke up after being in a three-month-long coma. He was initially placed into this medically induced coma in Glasgow, Scotland, three months earlier because he had a very severe case of COVID-19.
Because he was having such a struggle with this, they wanted to make sure that he could recover, therefore placing him in this coma. So when he woke up, he was just so excited to be awake, to see his wife Miranda, to be healthy, hoping he's now on the road to recovery. But what he wasn't expecting was to be surrounded by police officers around his hospital bed.
Now, Arthur had absolutely no idea why the police were there to see him. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was a normal guy. I mean, yes, he had a bit of a rough upbringing. He was from Dublin, Ireland, and he was orphaned at a very young age. But other than that, he didn't have much of a past.
I mean, a speeding ticket here and there, but nothing that would warrant the police coming into his hospital room and surrounding his bed when he just woke up from this three-month-long coma. He looked at his wife Miranda, who he initially started dating back in 2011—they got married in 2020— And he had a look of confusion on his face. What was going on? Why were they here?
Did they have the wrong person? I mean, surely he had to have done something terrible to warrant the police officers coming bedside at his hospital. But he hadn't done anything. And you know what? Maybe Arthur Knight really hadn't done anything wrong. But the police insisted that this person lying there in that hospital bed, it wasn't Arthur at all. They said he was somebody else.
someone who had been born in the United States and was wanted for rape and sexual assault. Now, if what the police were saying was true, then how did this person, whoever they were, become Arthur Knight? And also, how did he get into the UK? And how did he escape the police and go unnoticed for nearly five years? Hey guys, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly with me, Annie Elise.
Now, the reason I chose this case and wanted to talk to you about it is because it is truly the definition of a roller coaster. There are so many twists along the way. There's parts of these interviews, which if you've seen them, you may know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen them, don't worry. I will play them for you.
But parts of these interviews where I was literally hysterically laughing. I mean, I lose my mind at one point because it is just so funny, the audacity of some people. And the theatrics and lengths that they will go to to try to convince somebody of something other than the truth. So this case involves this man who everybody thought was truly a good guy. He was well-liked.
He had a great, strong community. He was married. He was educated at all the best places. And he was really trying to make a difference in the world. But as it turns out, the reality was much, much different because it turns out that he may have lied about everything. And even more than that, may have been one of the worst predators that the police were hunting for years. But was that true?
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Chapter 2: What is the backstory of Nicholas Rossi, aka Nicholas Aliverdian?
And then more women came forward, saying both Arthur and Nicholas had assaulted them. It didn't matter if it was the United States or the UK. I mean, the allegations were just pouring in. And while all of this was going on, Scottish law enforcement was working to extradite Arthur to the United States. Arthur wasn't making it easy, though.
He would miss court hearings, he would constantly fire lawyers, he would claim he couldn't make the hearings because he was too sick, and in the summer of 2022, he ended up being admitted to the hospital before one of his hearings. However, he was arrested at that hospital after he threatened and attacked the hospital staff.
He was fined 400 euros and multiple doctors testified that Arthur was faking all of his illnesses. Also, that he didn't have any sort of problem that would cause him to use oxygen or need a wheelchair. So following this incident, he was placed in jail. And in the summer of 2022, a judge required him to submit his DNA and fingerprints so that he could prove his identity.
in November of 2022, in a surprise to absolutely no one, it was released that Arthur's fingerprints and Arthur's DNA matched that of Nicholas Rossi. Arthur Knight was in fact Nicholas. I mean, this guy, I mean, I gotta give him credit, right? Like he's got a lot of balls on him to like pull this off or try to even pull this off. I never would have the strength or willpower to do that.
But still, another year passed until Nicholas was finally extradited back to the United States. This was in December of 2023. He was being tried for two rape cases in Utah, and he was booked into a Utah County jail in January of 2024. And even though his literal DNA was a match for Nicholas, this guy still tried to say that he wasn't Nicholas. He was Arthur. He's the victim. He's framed.
It's not him.
My name is Arthur Nightbrain. My date of birth is 22nd of the 11th, 1986.
Okay, I don't... I think we're having a problem with understanding who this person is.
I don't... This is not number 36.
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