Man claims he was given tattoos while in coma

A MAN facing extradition to the US has claimed he was tattooed while unconscious in hospital, telling a court this was why he had similar tattoos to the man wanted by American authorities.

The 35- year- old man, who claims to be called Arthur Knight and lives in Glasgow, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday.

The court is trying to determine whether or not he is Nicholas Rossi, a man whom US authorities are seeking in connection with the rape of a 21- year- old in Utah in 2008.

Previous evidence heard the man was arrested at QEUH in October last year where he checked himself in under the name Arthur Knight after contracting Covid. He was remanded after Police Scotland officers received an Interpol red notice with photos of Rossi’s face and tattoos and, with the help of medical staff, said they were able to identify the patient.

At yesterday’s hearing, the man said he was unconscious while in a coma for 18 days prior to his arrest, during which he was tattooed.

Advocate depute Paul Harvey asked the man to clarify if the tattoos appeared on his body while he was in a coma, to which he replied: “Yes ... [ I] raised it with the hospital administration.”

Addressing the images of the tattoos shown before the court, the man said: “They were put there to make it look like I am this Nicholas Rossi.

“All I can say is that when I awoke from the coma, there were tattoos on my person and they were not identical to what appears on these screens.”

When asked if the headshots of Rossi on the Interpol red notice and extradition request were him, the man said the images had been transposed by a Utah County attorney.

He told the court there were “elements” of his appearance, but said the eyes were too far apart, the nose too fat and the face too wide for it to be him.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen adjourned the hearing until this morning.