A fugitive who faked his death to avoid charges in the US was caught in a Scottish hospital after being put on a ventilator for a COVID infection.
Nicholas Alhawardian, 34, was arrested on an Interpol notice on 13 December at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where he was intubated after nearly dying of the virus. Alhawardian – who claimed to have died of cancer in February 2020 at the age of 32 – is being sought on a 2008 sexual assault charge in Utah.
After going to extraordinary lengths to avoid capture, Elahwardian had no chance of escaping law enforcement this time with a serious COVID infection.
It also included a YouTube petition, uploaded three weeks after Alhawardian’s death, asking supporters to help the former foster child reform Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Speaking in a hoarse voice, Alhawardian said: ‘I am Nicolas Alhawardian and I beg you to join me in my final fight to reform the DCYF.’
A news report from a local radio station announcing Alhawardian’s death was also uploaded to the same YouTube channel, in an attempt to underline that Alhawardian was in fact dead.
A memorial tribute was posted in February 2020 which claimed that Alhawardian died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that his last words were ‘Don’t be afraid and run to the joy of the sun’
He used the name Arthur Knight when detained by Scottish Police, but is believed to have gone under at least eight different aliases since his escape in 2018.
Alhawardian, also nicknamed Rossi, fled the US after DNA linked him to a sex attack ohio Amidst reports of similar crimes across the country.
According to the Utah County Attorney’s Office, he is facing charges of fraud and sexual assault in at least two states.
An obituary was posted in February 2020 which claimed that Alhawardian died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that his last words were ‘Don’t be afraid and run for the joy of the sun’.
Alhawardian, also nicknamed Rossi, fled the US after linking DNA to a sexual assault in Ohio amid reports of similar crimes across the country
The obituary claimed that he passed away along with his wife, family and two children.
The obituary said, ‘At the time of his passing, the room was filled with the sound of the end credits for the 1997 film “Contact” by composer Alan Silvestri, a film and score that held special meaning to Mr. Alhawardian.
Obit, which some suspects wrote by Alhawardian himself, claimed that members of the House of Representatives and the Senate were among those paying tribute to ‘a fighter in spirit but a peacemaker in practice’.
Tribute also described him as ‘one of the most vocal, outspoken and creative advocates for the reform of Rhode Island’. [Department of Children, Youth and Families] and the child care system.’
The obituary states, ‘At the time of his passing, the room was filled with the sound of the end credits for composer Alan Silvestri’s 1997 film “Contact”, a film and score that held special meaning to Mr Alhawardian. .
Doubts were raised about her alleged death when a man claiming to be her widow insisted that her ashes be scattered at sea and refused to show her death certificate to the newspaper The Providence Journal.
Alhavardian’s foster mother also recognized the adulterous remarks in her obituary to be similar to her writing style.
A year after her self-declared ‘death’, reports emerged in the US that police did not believe she was dead and were actively hunting her.
He was previously questioned by the FBI on charges of credit card fraud.
But he is now subject to extradition proceedings in Utah after DNA-led officials found him in a hospital in Scotland on a ventilator.
In 2008, Alhawardian was convicted of two sexual assault charges in Ohio and in 2017 his DNA from that case was uploaded to a national database.
Local radio station WRPO 630, reporting his death, said Alaverdian grew up in foster care in Rhode Island and took it as his mission to fight against what he described as “abuse in the state’s childcare system.” Mission done.
Prosecutors claim that in 2020, his DNA matched that of sexual assault samples in Utah and found that he was a suspect in several other incidents across the US.
He also had a live warrant for his arrest after failing to register as a sex offender in Rhode Island.
Alhawardian is now the subject of extradition proceedings instigated by Utah County Attorney David Levitt, who thanked police around the world, including Police Scotland, for finding the man wanted.
He said: ‘Our office is grateful for the significant inter-agency cooperation of law enforcement to bring this suspect to justice.’
Alhawardian is now the subject of extradition proceedings instigated by Utah County
Mr Alhawardian, 34, was arrested on an Interpol notice at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow on 13 December after he nearly died of Covid-19.
An official Utah County Attorney statement said: ‘Investigators also learned that Nicholas Rossi had fled the country to avoid prosecution in Ohio and attempted to convince investigators and state legislators in other states. that he is dead.
‘Through the diligent efforts of SBI agents, and various investigators in other states and agencies, and in cooperation with the Utah County Attorney’s Office, Mr. Rossi was revealed to be living in Scotland under an assumed name.
‘He has been taken into custody and the Utah County Attorney’s office is working with federal and international agencies to extradite Mr. Rossi back to Utah.’
Rhode Island State Police Major Robert A. Creamer said: ‘He was based in Scotland about a month ago, where he was on a ventilator.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Authorities arrested a 34-year-old man in Glasgow on Monday, 13 December in connection with an international arrest warrant. A report was submitted to the financial prosecutor.
A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘I can confirm that Arthur Knight appeared via video link from QEUH on Thursday 23 December 2021 in connection with extradition proceedings to the US.
‘No future date has been decided yet.’