Pope meets parents of U.S. student who died in Rome

ROME, July 6 (UPI) -- Pope Francis met Wednesday morning with the parents of U.S. college student Beau Solomon, who was found dead in Rome's Tiber River.

Meeting at the Vatican, the Pope "expressed his deepest sympathy and compassion and his closeness in prayer to the lord for the young man who died so tragically" a statement by the Holy See said. The parents arrived in Rome on Monday evening.

Solomon, 19, a Spring Green, Wis., resident, was in Rome to attend a summer exchange program at John Cabot University, and was reported missing Friday. A homeless man, Massimo Galioto, 40, was charged with aggravated murder, and an autopsy ordered by prosecutors revealed Solomon drowned, ruling out the possibility he was dead before he entered the water.

Solomon's credit card and cellphone were missing, and witnesses told police Solomon was drunk and staggering when he was robbed by two people near the river prior to an alleged dispute with Galioto.