Nicholas Alahverdian
Nicholas Alahverdian (born 1987/1988)[5] is an Armenian American sex offender who faked his own death in 2020.[6][7][8]
Nicholas Alahverdian | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Alahverdian in 2012 | |
| Born | July 11, 1987 |
| Other names | |
| Criminal penalty | Registration as a sex offender (2008) |
Life
changeAlahverdian said that he was abused as a minor while under the care of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families.[6][9][10][11] Over this, he sued the organization in 2011 in federal court, then withdrew the lawsuit when Rhode Island waived his ~$200,000 medical fees.[12]
In 2008, Alahverdian, then known as Nicholas Rossi, was convicted of "sexual imposition" and public indecency over an incident with another student at Ohio's Sinclair Community College, where he studied in.[8] Alahverdian requested that the trial be restarted based on new evidence from the Internet. A computer expert analyzed the new evidence in 2011. He was 90% confident that it was fake, pointing to a date error which only a human would make, not a computer. The judge refused Alahverdian's request for the trial as the new evidence was "not credible".[8]
Personal life
changeIn 2015, Alahverdian was married for the second time; the couple ended their marriage by 2017, after a court ruled that Alahverdian was "guilty of gross neglect of duty and extreme cruelty" towards his wife.[8]
In January 2020, Alahverdian said that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.[13] According to his family, Alahverdian died of the disease on February 29, 2020.[14][15] His wife said that Alahverdian would be cremated and that Alahverdian's remains would be scattered at sea.[16] Upon Alahverdian's death, WPRI reported that he had moved out of the United States around four years earlier, with his wife saying that it was because they were not safe in the United States.[17][16]
Faked death
changeIn July 2020, Rhode Island State Police looked into whether Alahverdian's reported death was real; no conclusion was reached by January 2021.[8][7] The investigation occurred due to claims that Alahverdian was still alive, plus a warrant against Alahverdian as he was accused of failing to register as a sex offender in Rhode Island due to his 2008 conviction.[8]
Just before his illness and death, Alahverdian knew that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating him for fraud, said his former lawyer Jeffrey Pine.[8] The FBI's investigation happened because his foster mother Sharon Lane claimed that he opened 22 credit cards under her husband's name, spending over $200,000 which her husband now owed.[8] Pine was suspicious whether Alahverdian really died, because his illness and death were reported so quickly after Alahverdian learned of the FBI investigation.[8] Lane believed that Alahverdian was still alive, because in her opinion, the obituary and memorials written about him had a writing style matching Alahverdian's.[8]
A person claiming to be Alahverdian's widow denied that he had faked his death, but also refused to provide copies of his death certificate to the media.[8] According to a Rhode Island pastor, he had been contacted by a person claiming to be Alahverdian's widow, who had requested the holding of a mass in tribute to Alahverdian.[18] The pastor said that a Rhode Island policeman told him not to hold the event, and that the policeman also said that Alahverdian had faked his death, with the person claiming to be Alahverdian's widow possibly being Alahverdian himself using a "device that can change people's voices".[18] A person claiming to be Alahverdian's widow, 'Louise', also sent an email in January 2021 to The Providence Journal, which included criticism of people who had past connections to Alahverdian, including the victim of Alahverdian's sexual offenses, the police officer who took Alahverdian's sexual offenses case, the judge who oversaw Alahverdian's sexual offenses case, and Alahverdian's former foster parents.[18]
References
change- ↑ Gilmour, Lauren (2023-08-02). "Who is Nicholas Rossi and what is he accused of?". The Irish News. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Ambrose, Tom (January 14, 2022). "US man who faked death to evade rape charge arrested in Glasgow hospital". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ↑ Hay, Katharine (January 22, 2022). "US man accused of faking his own death remanded in custody". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ↑ Peiser, Jaclyn (January 13, 2022). "He faked his death to evade sexual assault charges, officials say. Police found him in a Scottish hospital". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ↑ "Nicholas Alahverdian, R.I. child welfare activist, dies at 32". MSN.com. March 4, 2020. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Longtime child welfare advocate fighting cancer". WJAR. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Authorities question whether child welfare activist died". Associated Press. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 Mooney, Tom. "He was reported dead, but the state police kept looking for Nick Alahverdian". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ↑ "Accusations of abuse, neglect in DCYF homes". GoLocalProv. March 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 2, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ↑ Heller, Mathias (February 9, 2012). "Legislation spotlights domestic abuse". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
- ↑ Buteau, Walt. "Street Stories: DCYF". WPRI on YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Buteau, Walt. "Suit against DCYF settled". WPRI.com. CBS News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Klamkin, Steve (9 January 2020). "DCYF critic, diagnosed with cancer, speaks out on troubled agency". WPRO News. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ↑ "Child welfare activist dies of cancer". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ↑ "Rhode Island child welfare reform advocate dies of cancer". NBC 10 News. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Klamkin, Steve. "Child abuse victim Alahverdian loses his cancer fight". WPRO News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ↑ Buteau, Walt (March 3, 2020). "Child welfare activist, DCYF critic loses battle with cancer". WPRI News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Mooney, Tom (February 1, 2021). "If Nick Alahverdian isn't dead as some believe, who's the widow 'Louise'?". Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.