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Rhode Island native Nicholas Alahverdian facts
The man in Scotland who calls himself Arthur Knight denies being the American fugitive Nick Alahverdian.
On a mild February day in 2020, a short, 32-year-old Rhode Islander sporting a black top hat pressed down over his ears escorted his newest bride from a village church in Bristol, England, then paused with her beside the stones of the dead – fittingly enough, it now seems – for wedding photos.
Nick Alahverdian had been spending time recently erasing all likenesses of himself on the internet. But there was no avoiding these photographs. It would look too odd. And there was already plenty of oddness about this picture: a groom with no family or friends present. His new brother–in-law filled in as best man.
So, Alahverdian, a man of numerous aliases, police would later say, smiled as the bride’s few guests and family members tossed paper hearts into the air. The hearts fluttered like butterflies over the newlyweds, some settling in the bouquet of purple and yellow flowers held by Alahverdian’s third (at least) wife, Miranda.
Life seemed to be falling neatly into place. And seven days later, Alahverdian, with one keystroke, would finalize the deception he’d been arranging back in Rhode Island for weeks.
His death.
Things did not work out as planned.
On Friday, a day after his 37th birthday, Alahverdian was scheduled to appear remotely in a Utah courtroom from the prison where he’s being held without bail on two 2008 rape charges.
His pre-trial court appearances have been the latest snippets in a media-grabbing drama that began with him faking his death to escape an FBI fraud investigation, then masquerading as someone else in Scotland to (unsuccessfully) fight his extradition. Now, he’s carrying on his charade back across an ocean.
He insists, still, that he is Arthur Knight, a onetime Irish orphan turned English academic and a victim of a “monstrous case of mistaken identity.”
More: Dive deeper into Nick Alahverdian’s story with these podcasts and documentaries
As his real-life rape prosecutions move closer to trial, the entire Alahverdian saga up to this point is the subject of a four-part docuseries, which begins streaming in the United States this week on NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
The docuseries, titled: “Rossi: A Fugitive Faking Death,” is available starting Tuesday, an NBC spokesman confirmed.
The docuseries uses the name Rossi to identify its main character, which is the surname of Alahverdian’s stepfather and the name he’s charged under in Utah.
But Alahverdian reverted to using the last name of his biological father in 2011, when, as a former child welfare reform advocate, he filed suit against the state Department of Children, Youth and Families over his placement in out-of-state behavioral treatment centers.
The docuseries, which The Providence Journal participated in, was produced by Five Mile Films, of Bristol, England, and is being distributed by BBC Studios.
In January 2020, with the FBI looking into allegations that he committed $200,000 of credit card fraud in the name of his foster father, Alahverdian spread the lie among Rhode Island media outlets that he was dying of cancer. Then, days after his marriage in England, he sent out a press release of the demise of this “warrior” for children.
Then came the emails and phone calls to reporters from his “widow” about two memorial services and her insistence that they be covered. Neither service happened, because investigators had told the church leaders that they suspected Alahverdian was still alive.
American law enforcement officials tracked him to Scotland after searching his iCloud account and seeing photographs of him posing with Miranda at Scottish landmarks and dining at recognizable restaurants.
He was arrested on rape charges in December 2021 in a Glasgow hospital, where he was suffering from COVID.
Following his arrest, prosecutors in Utah said that at least a dozen women in four states had accused Alahverdian over the years of various crimes, including sexual and domestic assault, rape, extortion and kidnapping.
In the same year he is alleged to have raped two Utah women, he was convicted of groping a female student in a stairwell at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Alahverdian then tormented his victim online and sued her claiming his conviction was “tantamount to flying planes into my twin pillars of personal success and public service.” His appeal was thrown out after a computer expert testified Alahverdian’s “new” evidence of an online posting supposedly written by his victim had been fabricated.
Viewers of the docuseries will hear several women tell of meeting Alahverdian online and being victimized, threatened and conned by him, while his current wife, Miranda — who had told The Journal she had hoped to have a child with her husband — insists authorities have the wrong man.
In August 2023, a Scottish judge finally ruled that Alahverdian was indeed the man American law enforcement officials had sought.
The judge based his identity finding on fingerprints, previous mug shots of Alahverdian and striking arm tattoos.
Alahverdian mustered a bizarre retort: that some mystery person must have inked those tattoos on him while he was comatose, and that a colluding hospital employee secretly dashed off a copy of his fingerprints to Utah prosecutors.
Said the Scottish judge of Alahverdian: He is “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.”
Contact Tom Mooney: tmooney@providencejournal.com.
Local News
A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.
The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.
Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)
“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”
The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (1)
According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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