Jury Selection To Begin In 2nd Utah Rape Trial For Man Accused Of Faking His Death And Fleeing U.s.

For nan second clip successful 2 months, a man accused of faking his ain decease and fleeing to nan United Kingdom to debar intersexual allegations will guidelines proceedings connected those charges successful a Utah courtroom.

Jury action is scheduled to statesman Monday successful Utah County, wherever Nicholas Alahverdian, 38, is accused of raping an ex-girlfriend connected Sept. 13, 2008. Opening arguments could statesman later successful nan week.

The lawsuit comes 1 period aft Alahverdian, who has been identified and charged by authorities successful Utah arsenic Nicholas Rossi, was convicted of raping his erstwhile fiancé successful Salt Lake County successful December 2008.

He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced successful that lawsuit adjacent month.

Alahverdian, a erstwhile advocator for foster younker successful Rhode Island, pleaded not blameworthy successful some cases. In media interviews, he denied sexually assaulting anyone.

In nan lawsuit now being tried, nan accuser said she dated Alahverdian concisely aft gathering him connected MySpace successful nan summertime of 2008, a probable origin connection shows. The woman, identified successful tribunal papers arsenic K.P., said she ended nan narration aft Alahverdian became progressively fierce and grounded to repay her money he’d borrowed.

On Sept. 13 of that year, she went to Alahverdian’s location believing he’d salary her back, according to nan statement. Instead, nan connection alleges, he raped her.

The female had a intersexual battle kit completed nan adjacent day, but because of a backlog successful testing, Alahverdian was not identified arsenic a fishy until a decade later, authorities person said.

Alahverdian was charged pinch rape successful relationship pinch nan allegations successful 2020 — nan aforesaid twelvemonth an obituary claimed that Alahverdian died astatine property 32 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Two years later, authorities successful Utah announced they were seeking to extradite a man surviving successful nan United Kingdom believed to beryllium Alahverdian. He’d fled nan United States to debar prosecution, according to nan state’s Department of Public Safety, and was surviving successful Scotland nether nan sanction Arthur Knight.

In an question and reply pinch “Dateline” astatine nan time, he appeared successful a wheelchair and said pinch a British accent. He was not Alahverdian, he claimed, but an Irish orphan-turned-businessman.

A Scottish judge disagreed and Alahverdian was extradited to nan United States successful January 2024. During a bail proceeding that followed, he acknowledged his existent personality and said he’d changed his sanction to Arthur Knight to protect himself against what he described arsenic “credible threats” made successful consequence to his foster younker defense successful Rhode Island.

In nan second Utah rape case, a female whom Alahverdian was concisely engaged to testified that she bought their engagement rings and lent him money for rent. Afterward, she testified, he became progressively mean and controlling and raped her aft an statement astir ending their relationship.

Alahverdian was accused of akin allegations elsewhere. In a divorcement filing, an ex-wife successful Ohio, Kathryn Heckendorn, said he borrowed $52,000 and grounded to salary her back. She accused him of gross neglect and utmost cruelty. In an question and reply pinch “Dateline,” Heckendorn accused him of locking her successful a bath and raping her erstwhile she refused to person activity pinch him.

Alaverdian denied nan allegations and said successful a tribunal filing that nan money was a gift, not a loan.

In different lawsuit successful 2008, a female successful Ohio whom Alahverdian met connected MySpace accused him of sexually assaulting her while they were stepping to people astatine a section organization college. He denied nan allegation and was charged pinch nationalist indecency and intersexual imposition, a misdemeanor crime indicating intersexual interaction against a person’s will.

After a trial, Alahverdian was fined and ordered to registry arsenic a activity offender.