Last week, Beau Solomon, a 19-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, went missing while studying abroad in Rome. His body was found in the Tiber river with a head wound and bloodied shirt, according to Reuters.
Solomon had been out with friends, who didn’t realize he was missing until they got home. They really started to worry when he failed to show up for class registration the next morning. After he went missing, his parents called his credit card company only to find that someone had charged thousands of dollars on his credit card. The kicker is that the charges occurred in Milan—far from the Trastevere district where Solomon was living.
The police already have a suspect in custody. Massimo Gallioto, a 40-year-old homeless man, was detained overnight because the Italian police think he could be implicated in the murder.
Solomon’s parents told the Guardian that their son was a hard worker who planned to finish college in three years. “He’s loved by everyone, and he’s the glue that keeps our family together,” his brother Jake told WISC-TV.
“All of us at UW-Madison are greatly saddened by this loss,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Beau was a bright and caring young man who lived the Wisconsin Idea through his work at Badger Boys State and his desire to travel and experience other cultures. Our hearts go out to Beau’s family and friends at this difficult time.”