American university student found dead in Rome in possible homicide

The body of an American university student who went missing in Rome three days ago was found in the Tiber River on Monday, and police said they were not ruling out homicide.

Beau Solomon, 19, from Wisconsin, was due to start a study abroad programme at John Cabot University, whose campus is in the central Trastevere district, which is near the river and popular with young people.

The university confirmed Solomon's death in a statement. It said earlier he had not been seen since about 1 a.m on Friday morning, when he had left a pub in the Italian capital, just hours after arriving in Rome.

Early reports said Solomon suffered a head wound and his shirt was bloodied.

Police said his body was taken to a morgue where an autopsy would be carried out to determine the cause of death.

Solomon's brother, Jake, told NBC News that after he went missing their parents called his credit card company and learned thousands of dollars had been charged to his card in Milan, hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in northern Italy.

"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's body was found.

"He was driven, career oriented," Jake Solomon said, adding that Solomon's parents arrived in Rome on Monday.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis in New York; Editing by Larry King and Frances Kerry)