Nicholas Rossi: fingerprint match on alleged fugitive

A court has heard that all 10 fingerprints taken from a man calling himself Arthur Knight were a match for wanted fugitive Nicholas Rossi.

A fingerprint specialist told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that the prints identically matched those included in an Interpol Red Notice for Mr Rossi.

The evidence was heard at a hearing to identify the man believed by US authorities to be Mr Rossi.

The alleged fugitive claims he is the victim of mistaken identity.

The 35-year-old, who claims to be called Arthur Knight, has been fighting extradition since his arrest last year.

US authorities say the man is Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted for raping a 21-year-old in Utah, and for attacks on other women.

He arrived at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in a wheelchair chained to custody officers.

Since his arrest in December there have been a number of preliminary hearings which saw the man fire six lawyers and claim he was being tortured in prison.

Asked at the beginning of the hearing if he was Nicholas Rossi or Arthur Knight, he replied: "Arthur Knight."

His lawyer, Mungo Bovey KC, proceeded to tell the court of multiple issues concerning legal proceedings with regard to his client.

One of these included complaints that some information from a solicitor for the man "seems to be misconstrued by the sheriff".

He told the court there were legal concerns over the way the warrant for the man's arrest was issued, and claims his client did not receive the provisional arrest certificate (PAC) after his arrest in December.

Advocate depute Paul Harvey, however, disputed this, claiming action from previous sheriffs had been what was required of them, and that the man had received the PAC.

But Sheriff Norman McFadyen later rejected the request for adjournment and proceeded with the identification hearing.

The court later heard the man was arrested on 13 October last year while being cared for at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after developing respiratory problems from contracting Covid-19.

Charge nurse Ruth Keating, 58, told the court she cared for a patient called Arthur Knight.

She was presented with the same Interpol Red Notice document featuring images of Rossi, but was asked by Mr Harvey to focus on photos of his arms, which featured tattoos.

Addressing one particular photo showing a tattoo of a red cross above an angel wing, Ms Keating replied: "That looks like the tattoo I saw on Arthur Knight."

When Mr Harvey asked the witness if she could identify Arthur Knight in the court room, Ms Keating pointed to the man.

Dr Robert Hart, 36, an intensive care consultant who treated Rossi, also recognised the photos shown to him by police as patient Arthur Knight.

He said the tattoos he saw on the patient were a "match" to those shown in the wanted man's photos.

The two police officers who arrested the man at the hospital, PC Shannon McGill and PC Jamie Crombie, were also called to give evidence.

Both said the man's tattoos matched those in the document.

The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.