A coroner in Edinburgh is trying to identify the man, who he claims is 35-year-old Arthur Knight, but officials in the US say he is Nicolas Rossi – who is wanted for the rape of a 21-year-old woman in Utah. . Lisa Davidson, a Tenprint identification officer, was called to give evidence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday. An Interpol red alert document for Rossi’s arrest was shown at the hearing, with multiple snapshots of Rossi and his fingerprints. The court was also shown a document with the fingerprints of the man he claims to be Mr Knight, taken at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh this year. Ms Davidson, who has worked in fingerprint identification for 22 years, was asked by Deputy Solicitor Paul Harvey what her conclusion was when she compared the fingerprints on the two documents. She replied, “I found them to be identical. The fingerprints were identical. All 10 prints were identical.” Ms Davidson was then asked to compare the man’s fingerprints with those of wanted Rossi in an extradition request, which was also presented to the court. He said the quality of the fingerprints on the extradition request was poor, but said he was able to confirm that the left index finger and thumb were the same as the man’s. Tattoos are a match The court heard that the man was arrested on October 13 last year while being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow after developing respiratory problems due to being infected with COVID-19. Nurse Ruth Keating, 58, who was on duty at the time, gave evidence at the hearing, telling the court she was caring for a patient called Arthur Knight. She was shown the same Interpol red notice document with images of Rossi, but was asked by Mr Harvey to focus on pictures of his arms, which contained tattoos. Read more: Is this man a rape suspect who faked death – or a victim of mistaken identity? Referring to a photo showing a tattoo of a red cross over an angel’s wing, Ms Keating said: “This looks like the tattoo I saw on Arthur Knight.” When Mr Harvey asked her if she could identify Arthur Knight in the courtroom, Mrs Keating pointed to the man. Dr Robert Hart, 36, an intensive care consultant who treated the man, also identified photographs shown to him by police as patient Arthur Knight. He said the tattoos he saw on the patient “matched” those seen in the wanted man’s photos. He told the court the tattoos were “discolored” and “the skin around the tattoos was quite disfigured”. Mr Harvey asked Dr Hart if he had seen similar skin in patients who had tattoos removed, and he replied: “I’m not an expert on that.” Earlier, the man arrived at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in a wheelchair handcuffed to officers. Asked at the start of the hearing whether it was Nicholas Rossi or Arthur Knight, he replied: “Arthur Knight”. The man’s barrister, Mungo Bovey KC, proceeded to inform the court of a number of issues relating to legal proceedings relating to his client and asked for the case to be adjourned. He also told the court there were legal concerns about the way his arrest warrant was issued and claimed his client did not receive a provisional arrest certificate (PAC) after his arrest in December. But Sheriff Norman McFadyen refused the request for an adjournment and proceeded with the identification hearing. The case continues.
