Nicholas Rossi, accused of faking death and fleeing U.S. to avoid rape charges, will stand trial in Utah, judge rules

A man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges will stand trial, a judge in Utah ruled Thursday.

District Judge Barry Lawrence ruled during Nicholas Rossi's preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial, CBS affiliate KUTV reported. Rossi was scheduled back in court for an arraignment and bail hearing on Oct. 17, the station reported.

Prosecutors say Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old former girlfriend after an argument 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 and was not identified as a suspect for about a decade due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.