A man suspected of rape who "faked his own death" while on the run from the FBI has made a strange television appearance.
Nicholas Rossi - who is believed to be Nicholas Alahverdian - took part in an interview with the NBC program Dateline to protest his innocence by claiming to be someone else.
The 35-year-old man has faced a number of sexual assault charges, including an accusation that he raped a 21-year-old woman in Utah back in 2008. Law enforcement has also stated that he fabricated his death in 2017 and fled to Scotland.
However, he was soon apprehended on rape charges in December 2021 after being caught in a Glasgow hospital after contracting Covid-19. He was identified through fingerprints and tattoos, as reported by CBS News.
Watch Nicholas's Dateline interview below:Nicholas has strongly denied being Alahverdian to authorities and has claimed that he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never been to the US.
A snippet of his interview with correspondent Andrea Canning has been shared online. It shows him sitting alongside his wife, Miranda Knight, and insisting that he is a victim of mistaken identity.
"We were once a normal family, but thanks to the media our lives have been interrupted," he said as he gasped into an oxygen mask in an unusual 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," he added.
He desperately tried to demonstrate that he is not faking his disability by attempting to stand up and dramatically flailing around before being caught by his wife, as he says: "Exactly, exactly,"
When asked once again if he was lying about his current identity, he tearfully exclaimed: "I am not Nicholas Alahverdian! I do not know how to make this clearer!"
The suspect was born in Rhode Island and became an outspoken detractor of the state's Department of Children, Youth, and Families. He testified before state lawmakers about being sexually abused and tortured while in foster care, as reported by The Providence Journal.
Police in Rhode Island have said he is also wanted in their state for failing to register as a sex offender. In addition to this, the FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was condemned for sex-related charges in 2008.
In 2020, the wanted man told the media he had been diagnosed with late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. An obituary published online then claimed he died on February 29, 2020. However, Rhode Island state officials, Nicolas' former lawyer, and former foster family questioned whether he actually passed away.
Nicholas has made numerous court appearances and fired at least six lawyers after his arrest in Scotland. He is insisting that he is Arthur Knight and not Nicholas Rossi.
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