The ex-wife of a conman and rapist who faked his own death and fled from the US to Scotland says he deserves life in prison.
Kathryn Heckendorn married Nicholas Rossi, whom she knew at the time as Nick Alahverdian, following a short courtship in 2015.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to a total of ten years behind bars after being convicted of two rapes.
Kathryn told STV News she prays he “stays in prison for life – the monster can’t be free”.
‘He is a master manipulator’
Kathryn was 26 years old when she first met Rossi – she was “infatuated” by the façade he put on.
“He’s very much about his image coming off well put together, well educated, well worded and kind,” she told STV News.
“But you can tell there’s a little something off there, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. He is a master manipulator, liar, deceiver – he can go to any lengths whatsoever to obtain what he wants.”
The pair were married briefly – and it didn’t take long for Rossi to begin his campaign of abuse against her.
“We were married in October of 2015, and it was literally the day after that he became physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive.
Kathryn Heckendorn“It happened immediately – the control on who I could talk to, cutting me off from friends and family, where I could go, what I did, just leaving the house, what I could wear. Everything was controlled so tightly.”
Kathryn says Rossi carried on the abuse behind closed doors – convincing her family and friends that she was the one in the wrong.
She recalled: “As soon as you get the strength to stand up for yourself, he would change his demeanour and act like the victim. You end up being very alone, unfortunately, if you are tangled up in his web of lies.”
‘Scary’ journal entries
Kathryn discovered journals Rossi had compiled – lists of women he’d met around town, at church and at university.
“They were very alarming. He never found out I had found them. Very detailed, like ‘this one woman, she goes to a university, this is her schedule. These are her likes, dislikes, has a boyfriend, so don’t approach her when she’s with her boyfriend, or with these friends’.
As soon as you start saying no … it lights a fire in him and he gets violent – very violent.
“They were extremely detailed and scary. I think I was almost numb because I think it finally hit me – it confirmed that the hell I was living in was real and not conjured up in my mind.”
At one point during the seven-month marriage, Rossi locked Kathryn in a bathroom without food for two days.
“His ego always gets the best of him. As soon as you start saying no or standing up for yourself, it lights a fire in him and he gets violent – very violent.”
She secretly recorded his abusive behaviour on her phone, as proof for a divorce. She eventually left him and began the process of rebuilding her life.
Kathryn Heckendorn‘I didn’t know where he was, and I knew what he was capable of.’
“But in a way, that was just the beginning,” Kathryn told STV News.
“He continued to stalk me and harass me despite a civil protection order – he’d wear disguises around town to: One, hide from the police and avoid getting served, and two, to stalk my father, my mother and myself. It was terrifying.
“I didn’t know where he was, and I knew what he was capable of. The moment he realised that I was not coming back, he just turned into a monster threatening me. And that took years – years of therapy to just be able to get through a day without that trauma coming back up.”
She’s since made attempts to move on and is now happily married – but fears life will never be the same.
“It will be a lifelong process to continue to grow past him and move beyond the damage that he’s caused.”
The fake obituary
In 2017, Rossi faked his death and fled to the UK – to avoid being arrested over two counts of rape – the first, of a 26-year-old woman in Salt Lake County, and the second, of a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year.
When she read his obituary, Kathryn says she knew it was “baloney”.
STV News“Immediately, I knew he was still alive … I knew he ran away and he went to the UK – he had always talked about Ireland and Scotland.”
While in the UK, Rossi had claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight – fighting his true identity tooth and nail, to avoid extradition and eventually, conviction.
Media circus was ‘trainwreck’
As part of the ruse, he did a number of interviews. Kathryn recalls watching what she calls the “media circus” from afar.
“I watched some of those interviews and everything – it’s a trainwreck on the eyes, seeing him fake needing a wheelchair.
STV News“It’s very obvious and evident he didn’t need the wheelchair, but he truly believes he’s much smarter than everyone else – that he has people fooled.”
Last October, the lies came to an end – in a Utah court, he finally admitted he was born Nicholas Alahverdian, and later became Nicholas Rossi.
He’s been convicted of both rapes and sentenced to a collective ten years in prison.
But Kathryn doesn’t think it’s enough.
“I don’t feel relief yet because we haven’t had the life sentence and that is what we need,” she said.
“Ten years, 20 years, whatever – it’s not going to be enough. He will never rehabilitate.
“He has lived this life of lies and deceit and manipulation since he was a child. He will never change, and if he ever does get out he will revert right back to it.”
“I just pray that he stays in prison for life – the monster can’t be free.”
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