Nicholas Rossi, the convicted rapist whose attempt to fake his own death sparked an international manhunt, has died while serving his prison sentence in Utah. Officials said the 38-year-old passed away after suffering complications from a pre-existing medical condition following his decision to stop medical treatment.
Rossi, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian, became the focus of worldwide attention after an online obituary falsely claimed he had died in 2020. Authorities later discovered he had fled to Scotland under multiple aliases in an effort to avoid prosecution for rape charges in Utah. He was eventually identified, arrested in Glasgow while receiving treatment for COVID-19, and extradited back to the United States in 2024.
In 2025, juries found Rossi guilty in two separate rape cases dating back to 2008. Prosecutors described him as a serial sexual predator who spent years trying to escape accountability through deception and false identities. He was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison, where he remained until his death.
Authorities confirmed that Rossi’s victims and family were informed of his death. Prosecutors said the outcome may provide some measure of closure for the survivors, ending a case that stretched across multiple countries and captured international attention for years.
