Rome, Italy – An American college student was found dead in a river in Italy Monday, days after he vanished in his first hours of study abroad trip, his school and family said. Salomon, a Spring Green native, had just completed his first year at UW-Madison in personal finance. Authorities are looking into whether an American college student whose body was discovered in the Tiber River was robbed and killed after the teen was found with a head wound and his credit card was used after his disappearance, his brother said.
THE FACTS OF THE INCIDENT
- Investigators identified the accused as Massimo Galioto, a 40-year old from Rome
- He was taken into custody because he was “seriously suspected of aggravated homicide, according to police
- Police on Monday pulled the body of Beau Solomon from the Tiber. The student was from Spring Green, Wisconsin, and had last been seen early Friday morning in a pub
- The student was arriving in Rome for an exchange program at John Cabot University, an English-language university in the Italian capital
- Italian news agency ANSA said preliminary autopsy results indicated that Solomon had suffered injuries consistent with a fall and with days spent in the water, although the exact cause of death remains to be determined
- John Cabot University was alerted by a roommate, who reported he lost contact with Beau on Friday & became worried when he didn’t show up for orientation
- Cole Solomon, Beau’s 23-year-old brother, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that his brother’s body was discovered with a head wound and blood on his shirt & that thousands of dollars were charged to his brother’s credit card after his disappearance
- Investigators would check security cameras near the store for possible images of who might have used the cards & it wasn’t immediately clear if police believed the detained suspect himself used the card in Milan
POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH FAMILY
- Pop Francis met with the parents on Wednesday of the American college student found dead this week
- The Pop expressed his “feelings of deep sympathy and compassion” and “his closeness in prayer to the Lord for the young man who died so tragically,” according to a Vatican statement.