Summary
Overview
This episode features journalist Jane McSorley introducing her podcast 'I Am Not Nicholas,' which chronicles her four-and-a-half-year investigation into a bizarre case of alleged identity fraud. The story begins when a man was arrested in a Glasgow COVID ward in January 2022, with authorities claiming he was American fugitive Nicholas Rossi wanted for rape in Utah, while the man insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight. McSorley recounts her first encounter with this mysterious figure at an Edinburgh Sheriff Court bail hearing, where his theatrical appearance and disruptive courtroom behavior immediately signaled this would be an extraordinary story.
Discovery of the Nicholas Rossi Story
Jane McSorley explains how she first encountered this remarkable story while scrolling through morning news in January 2022. The case immediately captured her attention: a man arrested in a Glasgow COVID ward, with police identifying him as Nicholas Rossi, a fugitive wanted for rape in Utah, while the man himself claimed to be Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan. What began as curiosity evolved into a four-and-a-half-year investigative journey that would take her into unexpected territory.
- A man was arrested in a Glasgow COVID ward, with police claiming he was Nicholas Rossi, wanted for rape in Utah
- The arrested man insisted he was Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan
- McSorley followed this story for over four and a half years
" I came across this story as I was scrolling the morning news back in January 2022, and I immediately thought, this is unbelievable. "
" A man had been arrested in a Glasgow COVID ward. Police were saying he was a fugitive called Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted for rape in Utah, but he was claiming to be an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight. "
The Investigation's Scope
Throughout the episode, McSorley hints at the extensive nature of her investigation, which involved tracking down witnesses, knocking on doors, and dedicating what initially seemed like months of work that ultimately became nearly a year or more of intensive reporting. The testimonies she gathered suggest a complex web of relationships and conflicting accounts about this mysterious figure, with some sources knowing he was still alive and others describing disturbing behaviors, while his wife maintains he has never hurt or abused her.
- McSorley conducted extensive door-to-door interviews asking about the American man
- What seemed like months of work became practically a year of investigation
- Sources revealed conflicting information, with some knowing he was still alive
- Witness testimony included descriptions of being locked in bathrooms with only running water
- His wife claimed he has never hurt or abused her
" He would lock me in the upstairs bathroom. All I had was the running water. "
" I cannot get my head around the magnitude of this. It is beginning to become a storm. "
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