Identity of man who denies being fugitive could soon be revealed
THE identity of a man who authorities are seeking to extradite to the US could be confirmed at a court hearing next month.
The man is believed to be Nicholas Rossi, an alleged US fugitive who is said to have faked his death before hiding in Scotland to evade sex charges in Utah.
But the 34-yearold – who appeared in court in a wheelchair and wearing a breathing mask connected to an oxygen tank – claims to be Arthur Knight, a victim of mistaken identity who has never been to America.
At a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday, solicitor Becky Houston, representing the man, told the court she was appearing for “Mr Rossi” – who then interrupted her and asked her to refer to him as “Mr Knight”.
Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC, overseeing the case, asked her to call the man “my client”.
Ms Houston then confirmed the identification of the man will be discussed at a full extradition hearing set for June 9.
The defendant has instructed a QC for a consultation “next week” to go over his case, but no fixed date for that has been confirmed.
He had previously been told by a sheriff in April to instruct lawyers to represent him in the case “with haste”.
The case has made headlines since the man was arrested at a hospital in Glasgow after checking himself in with Covid-19 under the name “Arthur Knight”.
He was released on bail, but arrested a second time at his home address in the Scottish city after he missed an extradition hearing in January. US prosecutors claim the man is Rossi, who raped a 21-yearold in Utah in 2008.