suec1

OK, totally speculative at this point what happened. Very sad! and actually surprising IMO - has anyone seen any details - cause of death? robbery gone bad? I've always thought the chance of serious bodily harm was pretty rare in major EU cities but the mention of credit cards being used and large charges being made does make me wonder if the death was intentional rather than just a robbery gone bad. How difficult for the parents.

Alec

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bo...-italy-n603331
Very sad.

Sassafrass

So sad.

NewbE

Terrible. Every parent's worst nightmare, of course, and a big black eye for Rome, even though crime like this can occur anywhere.

bvlenci

It's a very upsetting story. He had just arrived on Thursday.

I've seen two entirely different stories about how he died. One, quoting a police source, said that he seemed to have drowned, and the other said he was shot.

Violent robberies are exceedingly rare in Italy, but it could happen. The police are hoping that something will have been caught on one of the security cameras in the area.

rosanna75

It is realy terrible. In Italy they say that he was out whit his roommate, went to the bathroom and didn't come back (he was not drunk!!) The same night, people saw someone who throw a body into the river and they called the carabinieri. They found the student who was hurt at his head.
And like the american article said, someone has used the students creditcard and spend 1500 euro.
It is awefull and like said before a real nightmare for the parents

Paqngo

I have heard that he went to a bar with his new roommates and when they wanted to leave he did not want to go. The kids were all told to stay together in their orientation. My heart goes out to his family.

bvlenci

I don't give too much credit to that person (singular) who saw someone throw a body in the river. At the moment there are too many contradictory stories floating around.

sparkchaser

<i>...I've always thought the chance of serious bodily harm was pretty rare in major EU cities...</i>

This is literally a one in a million (or more) thing.

Statistics. How do they work?

NewbE

<Statistics. How do they work?>

Good question! Not the way you think, apparently.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statist...ants)_YB14.png

dotheboyshall

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7120096.html

ticino

I've read that he had been drinking, got his wallet stolen, went off chasing the thieves, started fighting for some reason with a homeless guy and his girlfriend, and after that for some reason or other he ended up in the Tevere. At some point, someone used his credit card in Milan.

Very silly to go off chasing thieves by himself instead of calling his credit card company, if that is what really happened.

Macross

I don't know if it is damage control or just genuine kindness but Pope Francis met with the parent's of victim.

Sassafrass

If it was the homeless man in Rome, and the police have arrested him, then who used the credit cards in Milan? That does not make sense.

NewbE

The Italian police have an unfortunate history of nabbing the most convenient suspect in a high profile crime. I'm sorry to say I don't have a lot of faith that they got the right guy.

Whathello

Easy to bash the Police.
Strange to suspect the Pope of damage control.

That is a drama. Especially for their family. But it is and remain a 'fait divers' - something totally uninteresting, that can happen and happens everywhere.

A crazy guy stabbed to death a lady in my parents neighbourhood 2 years ago. But both the stabber and the stabbed were Belgians.
So it remained where it belongs : in the local papers.

Here the victim being US everybody follows.
Let him rest in peace. This is an ordinary drama that should not have happened but has zero relationship with Rome.

NewbE

You're right, Whathello, bad things happen everywhere and especially late at night, after a bar crawl...

I'm not saying there's a deep mystery here, but you have to admit that "the homeless guy" makes a good scapegoat.

Blueeyedcod

<<This is an ordinary drama that should not have happened but has zero relationship with Rome.>>


It is far from an 'ordinary drama'. A young person died!

As for it having 'zero' relationship with Rome - it happened there - Rome is not some cutesy little Tuscan village. It does have violent crime - it just rarely happens to tourists. Not sure how often you're in Rome but the homeless situation is getting worse and worse.

Dayle

I wouldnt say 0. It happened in Rome.

nanabee

What is disturbing is this is the THIRD John Cabot University student to die within the last few years.

In 2013 Andrew Carr (John Cabot Un. Student) fell from a parapet beside the Tiber River.

In 2015 Andrew Mogni (John Cabot Un. student) died from same parapet hours after his arrival in Rome.

I find that to be more suspicious than a robbery gone wrong done by a homeless person.