Italian police have detained a man
suspected of killing 19-year-old American student Beau Solomon,
whose body was found in the River Tiber in Rome on Monday,
sources said on Tuesday.
The suspect is a 41-year-old homeless man and Rome native,
the sources said.
He is accused of aggravated homicide.
Robbery or an argument are possible motives investigators
are looking into, sources said.
University of Wisconsin student Solomon, who came to Rome
to do a five-week course at John Cabot University, was probably
pushed into the river in the area of Ponte Garibaldi bridge,
suffering a fatal head wound on his way down into the river, the
police said after two witnesses came came forward and the murder
probe was opened Monday.
The body was found without a wallet or cellphone and his
credit cards were used after he went missing, leading police to
believe Solomon was robbed before being thrown into the river.
Solomon, described as a "sociable and sporty" young man,
had defeated a rare cancer of the eye as a boy, his family said.
After Solomon's body was found in the river, John Cabot
issued a statement saying:
"We express our most heartfelt condolences to the Solomon
family and to all those who loved Beau".
After the disappearance, Solomon's parents called their
son's credit card company and "realized thousands of dollars had
been charged" in Milan to his account, his brother, Jake
Solomon, said.
The sophomore was last seen around 1 a.m. on Friday while
at a pub in Rome, and his roommate became "worried when he did
not see Beau at orientation that morning," John Cabot University
said in a statement issued Sunday.
Solomon's parents arrived in Italy Monday, Jake Solomon
said.
"In our family, he is the one who does it all right. He's
an incredible athlete. He is the one that keeps us all
together," Jake Solomon told NBC News before his brother was
confirmed dead.
"He was driven, career oriented".
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