Suspected American fugitive who allegedly faked death insists he is Irish orphan in bizarre interview

A man believed to be Nicholas Alahverdian, a U.S. citizen who allegedly faked his own death to escape rape allegations, insisted he is instead an Irish-born orphan named Arthur Knight during a recent interview in Scotland that has gone viral. 

On April 21, NBC's "Dateline" aired the interview in an episode about the case. Alahverdian, 35, was charged in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah. 

Officials say Alahverdian, who also goes by the alias Nicholas Rossi, has spent more than a year fighting extradition to the United States from Scotland after he was arrested on rape charges in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19. Authorities identified him through fingerprints and tattoos. 

The man vehemently denied being Alahverdian to police and says he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never been to the U.S.

A clip of the interview with "Dateline" correspondent Andrea Canning recently went viral. Sitting alongside his wife, Miranda Knight, the man insists he is a victim of mistaken identity.

"We were once a normal family, but thanks to the media our lives have been interrupted," he says, gasping into an oxygen mask in a strange 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…"

Then, in a bizarre move, he tries to prove he is not faking his disability by dramatically attempting to stand up, flailing around before being caught by his wife, as he says: "Exactly, exactly," 

When asked if he was lying about his current identity, he exclaims: "I am not Nicholas Alahverdian! I do not know how to make this clearer!"

In addition to his pending Utah rape charge, authorities in Rhode Island have said Alahverdian is also wanted in their state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008. 

Alahverdian was born in Rhode Island and after a tumultuous childhood he became an outspoken critic of Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families, reported The Providence Journal. He testified before state lawmakers about being sexually abused and tortured while in foster care. 

Then in 2020, he told local media he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. An obituary published online claimed he died on Feb. 29, 2020. 

But by last year, Rhode Island state police, Alahverdian's former lawyer and former foster family were publicly doubting whether he actually died. 

Since his arrest in Scotland, the suspect has made several court appearances and fired at least six lawyers — all while insisting he isn't Nicholas Rossi. He is, he says, Arthur Knight.

In:
• Scotland
• Ireland