Man accused of faking death and fleeing US to avoid rape charges will stand trial, Utah judge rules

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A judge in Utah has ruled that a man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges will stand trial. KTVX-TV reports the judge said Thursday there was enough evidence for the case against 37-year-old Nicholas Rossi to proceed. Rossi is accused of raping a former girlfriend in Salt Lake County in 2008. In a separate case, he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year. Rossi has used several aliases and allegedly posted a fake obituary claiming he died in 2020. He was extradited from Scotland. His attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.