Nicholas Rossi's uncle and ex-wife expose fugitive's violent and manipulative past: 'He first hit me on our wedding day'
- Nicholas Rossi stands accused of the rape of two women ages 21 and 28 in Utah
- Prosecutors believe he went by ten different aliases over the years
- READ MORE: Defiant British wife who's standing by her preposterous American 'conman and rapist' husband
Nicholas Rossi's family members have unveiled the fugitive's violent past, with his ex-wife confessing that the US 'conman' and alleged rapist first hit her on their wedding day.
In 2020 - due to a backlog of DNA test kits at Utah State Crime Lab - Rossi was named a suspect in the rape of a 28-year-old woman in 2008. He also stands accused of another rape of a 21-year-old from that same year.
According to his ex-lawyer alleged Rossi had travelled to Ireland in 2019 and is known by ten different aliases including Arthur Brown - the name he currently goes by.
Following his high profile battle against extradition to the US from Scotland his ex-wife and uncle have revealed all regarding Rossi's manipulative and volatile behaviour, which is also detailed in episode 3 of Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead, which airs on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm
![Nicholas Rossi fled to Ireland and then the UK, going by several different names, after he faked his death in the US following two rape charges](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84907437-13420833-image-m-5_1715859134876.jpg)
Nicholas Rossi fled to Ireland and then the UK, going by several different names, after he faked his death in the US following two rape charges
![His ex-wife Kathryn Heckendorn (pictured with Rossi) said she felt 'pressured' into marrying the registered sex offender after only meeting six months prior](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84946911-13420833-image-a-1_1715859059328.jpg)
His ex-wife Kathryn Heckendorn (pictured with Rossi) said she felt 'pressured' into marrying the registered sex offender after only meeting six months prior
Kathryn Heckendorn, who was married to Rossi in Ohio for seven months, said she knew tying the knot with the fugitive was a mistake.
The pair had only known each other for six months before making their relationship legally official, which ultimately made Kathryn feel rushed.
She confessed she finally gave in to Rossi's request to get married, and the pair walked down the aisle without telling anybody else.
However, her wedding day would also be the start of a seven-month campaign of psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her ex-husband.
'It was the first day he first hit me, right after we were married,' she told the BBC.
Rossi would tell Kathryn what she could and couldn't wear and also severed her relationships with family and friends.
![Kathryn revealed she endured seven months of psychological and physical abuse at the hands of Rossi - who first hit her on their wedding day](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/21/16/84907435-13420833-Kathryn_revealed_she_endured_seven_months_of_psychological_and_p-m-16_1716305478860.jpg)
Kathryn revealed she endured seven months of psychological and physical abuse at the hands of Rossi - who first hit her on their wedding day
![Rossi is now married to Miranda Knight (pictured) who staunchly believe her husband to be Arthur Knight](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84907513-13420833-Miranda_Knight_has_staunchly_stood_by_her_husband_who_she_believ-a-6_1715859181819.jpg)
Rossi is now married to Miranda Knight (pictured) who staunchly believe her husband to be Arthur Knight
She alleged being hit by Rossi was 'a daily occurrence' and that he would regularly implode over small problems.
'[I would be] put down verbally [and told] just how stupid, dumb I was. If I didn't act that way, I wouldn't have to get hurt,' she said.
Kathryn recalled that Rossi would sometimes hold a knife to her throat or his own in some instances.
After finally escaping Rossi's clutches, Kathryn was granted a divorce after a judge said her husband had committed 'gross neglect of duty and cruelty.'
She was also unaware that her ex-husband was a registered sex offender until they were married.
Seven years prior, Rossi was found guilty of sexual imposition and public indecency whilst studying at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.
He assaulted a fellow student whom he had initially met on MySpace after the pair had been for lunch.
![Rossi's Uncle Michael (pictured was left deeply hurt after he discovered his nephew had faked his own death on the day of his brother's funeral](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84946913-13420833-image-a-2_1715859068637.jpg)
Rossi's Uncle Michael (pictured was left deeply hurt after he discovered his nephew had faked his own death on the day of his brother's funeral
![Michael remembered his nephew as a 'great' and 'special kid' (pictured on his adoptive father's, David Rossi's motorcycle in Providence, Florida)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/73888977-13420833-Nicholas_Rossi_as_a_child_sitting_on_his_stepfather_s_motorbike_-a-7_1715859194807.jpg)
Michael remembered his nephew as a 'great' and 'special kid' (pictured on his adoptive father's, David Rossi's motorcycle in Providence, Florida)
![Michael worked alongside Rossi to try and reform the child care sector however his nephew cut off contact in 2017](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84907527-13420833-Prosecutors_believe_Rossi_has_used_ten_different_aliases_over_th-a-8_1715859197331.jpg)
Michael worked alongside Rossi to try and reform the child care sector however his nephew cut off contact in 2017
Rossi's uncle's tale is a stark contrast to others who have come into contact with the fugitive.
Michael Alahverdian fondly remembered his nephew as a 'great' and 'special kid' in an interview with the BBC in 2023.
The pair became estranged when the rape suspect was around seven-years-old after his mother split from Michael's brother.
15 years later the pair began connected once again via Facebook, where Rossi told his uncle that he had been mentally and physically abused whilst in care.
In 2011, the fugitive attempted to sue Rhode Island state's child welfare agency for the abuse he reportedly endured. They eventually settled according to the BBC.
Michael worked alongside Rossi to try and reform the child care sector however his nephew cut off contact in 2017.
'The next time I heard of him was that it was on the news that he had passed away,' Michael told the BBC.
In 2020, Rossi faked his death, declaring to the media he only had mere weeks to live due to a late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma - and an obituary declaring his death was later released.
A year later Rossi's biological father and Michael's brother - Jack - passed away.
Michael discovered his nephew was still alive on the same day he buried his brother.
![The fugitive has insisted for years that he is actually an Irish orphan and was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he lay in a coma](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/79779423-13420833-The_fugitive_has_insisted_for_years_that_he_is_actually_an_Irish-a-9_1715859202481.jpg)
The fugitive has insisted for years that he is actually an Irish orphan and was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he lay in a coma
![Rossi has been awaiting trial in jail in Utah since December last year, as he continues to maintain that he is Arthur Knight](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/16/12/84907447-13420833-Rossi_has_been_awaiting_trial_in_jail_in_Utah_since_December_las-a-10_1715859208557.jpg)
Rossi has been awaiting trial in jail in Utah since December last year, as he continues to maintain that he is Arthur Knight
Comparing it to a 'dream' and a 'nightmare', Michael said: 'I get home and on the news is that Nick [Rossi] was found alive.'
Hurt by the deception from his family member, the distraught uncle confessed the entire family was 'in shock'
In November it was ruled Arthur Knight was Rossi, and he later lost his last appeal against extradition.
Rossi has been awaiting trial in jail in Utah since December last year.
There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.
Episode 3 of Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead airs on Ch 4 tonight at 10pm