(ANSA) - Rome, July 4 - A body found in the Tiber Monday is that of an American student who has been missing in Rome since Thursday night-Friday morning, police said Monday, adding they believed he had been murdered.
University of Wisconsin student Beau Solomon, 19, who came to Rome to do a five-week course at John Cabot University, was dumped into the river and probably suffered 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. The body, which had a deep wound to the head, is set to be identified by Solomon's parents later Monday.
The body was found without a wallet or cellphone, leading police to believe Solomon was robbed before being thrown into the river.
Solomon was last seen at about 1 a.m. local time at a bar in Piazza Trilussa, in Rome's popular Trastevere neighbourhood, on July 1.
The police and the family have reportedly said Solomon's credit cards were used since he disappeared.
Solomon, described as a "sociable and sporty" young man, had defeated a rare cancer of the eye as a boy.
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. "John Cabot University also informed the American Embassy and the student's home school, which notified the family," the statement added. Solomon's parents arrived in Italy Monday, Jake Solomon said. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's dean of students, Lori Berquam, said the school had been working with Italian and American authorities to locate Solomon. "We ask all Badgers to keep Beau and his family in their thoughts and prayers," Berquam said in a statement Sunday.
Solomon's disappearance was reported to Italian authorities by college officials at 9 p.m. local time on Friday, a spokesman for the police told NBC News. "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," he said, adding that his brother is a cancer survivor.
Abby Korenchan, 19, who graduated high school with Solomon said the news of
Map showing locations pertaining to the robbery of Beau Solomon. 
Map showing scene and bar locations pertaining to the robbery of Beau Solomon. 

On Tuesday,  police charged homeless forty-year-old Massimo Galioto with the aggravated murder of Beau Solomon, a college student from Wisconsin, US. The police arrested the man after finding the student's body in the  in  on Monday. The defendant has attorney Michele Vincelli.

According to reports, Massimo Galioto is homeless and lived in a tent under a bridge. Italian police said two witnesses reported they saw someone being thrown from the Garibaldi bridge into the Tiber River. The authorities also reportedly obtained CCTV footage near the bank of the river, showing the incident.

A homeless woman sharing a tent with Massimo Galioto said she saw Massimo Galioto and Beau Solomon fighting each-other, and then saw Beau Solomon fall into the river. The woman alleged Beau Solomon was drunk and the company included two people from North Africa.

On Monday, Italian police found Beau Solomon's body near Guglielmo Marconi bridge about three miles (five kilometres) downstream from Trastevere, where the student was last seen at about 1AM in G-Bar in ''Piazza Trilussa'' on Friday night after his first day in Italy. Solomon was beginning a  at . His parents arrived on Monday using emergency passports.

The body had no mobile device or wallet, suggesting to local authorities it was a robbery. The body also had a head wound and bloody shirt, the victim's 23-year-old brother Cole Solomon told the '''' on Monday.

Last week on Friday morning, Beau Solomon's parents received bank alerts. According to the student's brother Jake Solomon, the bank told his parents Beau's bank card was charged "thousands of dollars". Authorities later confirmed the amount as about 1,500  (about 1700). The credit card of the victim was charged in  over 300 miles away from Rome on Friday.

Beau Solomon was aged 19. He came to Italy to attend summer school on Thursday. Beau Solomon did not attend university  next morning, and the institution reported him missing to the local authorities at 9PM.