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Attorney’s office releases new information on accused fugitive

By Kelcie Hartley - | Jul 8, 2022

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

The Utah County Attorney's Office logo is shown behind then-County Attorney David Leavitt during a press conference at his office in Provo on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.

Utah County Attorney David Leavitt announced Wednesday that Arthur Knight, also known as Nicholas Rossi, was arrested in Glasgow, Scotland.

According to the release, Knight was arrested for allegedly obstructing the course of justice and allegedly behaved in a threatening or abusive manner at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ward on Tuesday.

“It is alleged that ‘Knight shouted, swore, lunged and pursued them,’ and acted ‘in an aggressive manner’ towards staff in the course of their duties,” reads the release.

The Utah County Attorney’s Office has been working with multiple agencies in the U.S. and globally for few years to apprehend Knight. In 2020, Leavitt and his team began working on several sexual assault cases where the rape kits had not been tested. One of them was from 2008 where Knight, allegedly using Rossi’s name, was the suspect.

“This is a great day and I express appreciation to my chief deputy, Sandi Johnson, for the fine work to identify this individual and work with the State Bureau of Investigations, Department of Justice, and Interpol to identify and seek justice,” Leavitt said in the release.

Leavitt said the extradition process is being handled by Scottish authorities.

A hearing for Knight was held Thursday to address the accusations made against him while he was in the Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ward. Prosecutor Julie Clark opposed bail for Knight.

“The Crown say he is a serious risk of failing to appear at any hearing and is a substantial risk of re-offending and a substantial risk of obstructing the course of justice,” Clark said in the release. “He appears today as Arthur Knight but has previously been identified by medical professionals and civilians as Nicholas Rossi. He has at least 10 aliases and is known in the US as Nicholas Rossi or Alahverdian and speaks in an American accent.”

According to Clark, Knight is known to his wife’s family as Nicholas Brown and speaks with an Irish accent, but he was recorded at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as Arthur Winston Brown and identified himself as Arthur Knight while speaking in an English accent.

“Fingerprints taken when he was arrested for this matter were confirmed to be Nicholas Rossi,” reads the release. “The Crown have received a number of medical reports from doctors involved in his care which state there is no concern related to his lungs.

Munawar Ali represented Knight in court, arguing that he should receive bail due to medical reasons.

“I think there is merit in what the procurator fiscal said,” Sheriff Gerard Macmillan said in the release. “There are possibilities that I have to take into account and there is a possibility that you may abscond or fail to appear at a hearing – there is a substantial risk of that.”

The extradition proceedings were rescheduled. Macmillan added that they “knew we had the right person” and are looking forward to proving their case.

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