Fugitive Who Faked His Death and Fled U.S. Is Caught in Scotland, Officials Say

The remembrances poured successful for Nicholas Alahverdian, saying that helium had succumbed astatine 32 to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma successful 2020. “His past words were ‘fear not and tally toward the bliss of the sun,’ ” an online tribute to Mr. Alahverdian read.

There was an successful memoriam citation with the signature of a congressman connected authoritative letterhead, adjacent a decease announcement purportedly quoting the politician of Providence, R.I.

But his demise was greatly exaggerated, the authorities successful 2 states said this week. Mr. Alahverdian, a convicted enactment offender wanted connected a rape complaint successful Utah, was live and not truthful well, prosecutors successful Utah and the Rhode Island State Police said.

He was precocious arrested successful Scotland, according to the authorities successful the United States, who said that Mr. Alahverdian, 34, had been hospitalized with Covid-19 successful Glasgow and had astatine 1 constituent been placed connected a ventilator.

He had been utilizing the sanction Arthur Knight portion surviving successful that state and eluding investigators, who said connected Thursday that they were present seeking to extradite him to the United States connected a rape complaint that has been pending since September 2020. The Providence Journal earlier reported Mr. Alahverdian’s arrest.

The case, which prosectors said progressive a intersexual battle connected a pistillate — whom Mr. Alahverdian had reportedly met connected Myspace — successful 2008 successful Orem, Utah, had been sealed until recently. The complaint was filed 7 months aft helium faked his death, said David O. Leavitt, the main authoritative successful Utah County, which includes Provo.

“We don’t marque a signifier of charging dormant people,” Mr. Leavitt said connected Thursday, adding that Mr. Alahverdian could precise good person known that “we were onto him.”

Mr. Leavitt said that DNA from Mr. Alahverdian matched familial grounds that had been taken from the victim. But that rape kit, similar a multitude of others sitting connected shelves successful the county, had agelong gone unanalyzed, helium said.

After being elected arsenic region lawyer successful 2018, Mr. Leavitt said, helium ordered that DNA grounds from scores of languishing rape kits beryllium entered into a nationalist database of registered enactment offenders.

“We got a hit,” helium said. “Suddenly, we had a suspect.”

Investigators said that the suspect, Mr. Alahverdian, had utilized a slew of aliases, including Nicholas Rossi. He was convicted successful 2008 of intersexual imposition and nationalist indecency nether that name.

Those charges stemmed from an brushwood betwixt Mr. Alahverdian and different Sinclair Community College pupil successful Dayton, Ohio, who told a field constabulary serviceman that Mr. Alahverdian had groped her and masturbated successful beforehand of her successful a stairwell.

The conviction, which Mr. Alahverdian unsuccessfully appealed, required him to registry arsenic a enactment offender. That unfortunate had besides met him connected Myspace, which Mr. Leavitt said had been a pattern.

“What we recovered was a way of victims,” Mr. Leavitt said. “We knew that if we charged him and if that were public, that we’d ne'er find him.”

In Glasgow, infirmary employees were capable to place Mr. Alahverdian from photographs, according to investigators, who said that his fingerprints and DNA had been provided to Interpol.

Laura Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the Crown Office, which prosecutes transgression cases successful Scotland, said “Arthur Knight” had appeared successful a virtual tribunal proceeding from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital successful Glasgow connected Dec. 23 successful transportation with the extradition proceedings. Ms. Hamilton said the Crown Office had not scheduled aboriginal tribunal dates.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said the unit had arrested a 34-year-old antheral connected Dec. 13 successful Glasgow “in transportation with an planetary apprehension warrant.”

The Rhode Island State Police and the F.B.I. referred questions connected Mr. Alahverdian’s existent presumption to Mr. Leavitt’s office, which said that it was not instantly wide whether Mr. Alahverdian was inactive hospitalized.

The online tribute to Mr. Alahverdian, which gave Feb. 29, 2020, arsenic the day of his decease and clocked successful astatine astir 1,000 words, said that his “earthly remains were cremated with his ashes scattered astatine sea.”

“At the clip of his passing, the country was filled with the sounds of the extremity credits for the 1997 movie ‘Contact’ by composer Alan Silvestri, a movie and people which held peculiar meaning for Mr. Alahverdian,” the tribute read. The movie, adapted from a caller by Carl Sagan, involves a imaginable connection coming from a distant prima system.

The tribute said that Mr. Alahverdian had earned acclaim arsenic a kid payment betterment advocate, drafting from his ain acquisition of being raped and assaulted successful Rhode Island’s kid payment system.

It quoted Jorge O. Elorza, the politician of Providence, remembering Mr. Alahverdian arsenic a “a beloved assemblage person whose selflessness and lifelong contributions to the residents of the State of Rhode Island person earned him the unwavering admiration and respect of many.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Elorza did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Thursday.

On a Facebook tribute leafage for Mr. Alahverdian, an successful memoriam citation signed by Representative Jim Langevin, Democrat of Rhode Island, is inactive prominently displayed.

According to Mr. Langevin’s office, the citation, which includes the House seal, was requested by idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium a subordinate of Mr. Alahverdian’s family. An adjutant to Mr. Langevin described it arsenic a communal courtesy for the bureau to accommodate specified requests, though helium said that had it known astir Mr. Alahverdian’s background, it would not person granted it.

The idiosyncratic requesting the tribute asked for Mr. Langevin to work the citation connected the level of the House, a petition that the bureau said had been denied.

“Every year, my bureau issues galore condolence cards to Rhode Islanders during their times of mourning,” Mr. Langevin said successful a connection connected Thursday. “If constabulary reports are accurate, it is disturbing that this 1 was abused to further this evident deceptive crippled to flight justice. I anticipation helium is brought to justness and prosecuted to the fullest grade of the law.”

Mr. Leavitt said that Mr. Alahverdian’s victims ranged acold and wide due to the fact that of his deception and weren’t constricted to those successful the intersexual battle cases. The exhaustive hunt for him, helium said, sent a almighty message, to radical including the pistillate Mr. Alahverdian is accused of raping successful Utah.

“She surely hasn’t rested from her suffering,” helium said, “and from our perspective, we shouldn’t beryllium resting, either.”