A 45-year-old Roman homeless man's
acquittal in the alleged manslaughter of 19-year-old American
student Beau Solomon in 2016 was upheld by an appeals court
Wednesday.
Prosecutors had asked an 18-year term for rough sleeper Massimo
Galioto for involuntary manslaughter in allegedly pushing
Solomon off a Rome bridge into the Tiber where he drowned on
June 30, 2016.
Galioto is in jail on suspicion of murdering a Romanian citizen
near Rome's Ponte Sisto bridge last May.
At the first instance trial in the Solomon case in June 2019,
prosecutors requested life but Galioto was acquitted for "not
having committed the crime", a fully exculpatory formula in
Italian law.
Prosecutors said Galioto allegedly pushed Solomon into the Tiber
after a violent argument, causing him to drown.
Solomon was in Rome for a five-week course at John Cabot
University and disappeared at around 01:00 on Sunday July 1
after drinking with fellow students in a Trastevere pub.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison student's body was found in
the river the following Monday.
Galioto reportedly admitted having an argument with the
student, during which Solomon allegedly slipped over the
embankment edge into the water.
Galioto, who has a record for petty crime, then failed to
raise an alarm and instead returned to his tent close to Ponte
Garibaldi, prosecutors said.
Galioto denied the charges and said Solomon tripped and fell
accidentally.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
