Parents suing Italian school where UW student died

The parents of Wisconsin student who died while studying abroad in Rome are suing his university in Italy for failing to notify him about previous deaths of students at the school.

On July 1, 2016, 19year-old Beau Solomon drowned in the Tiber River, hours after he first arrived in the city. He was set to take summer classes at John Cabot University. The Spring Green native had just finished his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin Madison and his body was found in the river on July 4, 2016.

Solomon’s parents, Nick and Jodi Solomon, filed a federal lawsuit against the school on Monday. The lawsuit alleges that JCU, an American liberal arts college in Rome, didn’t properly warn Beau Solomon about the dangers of the area surrounding the campus.

JCU offers undergraduate degrees and study abroad programs to English-speaking students all over the world.

According to the lawsuit:

At least five people in their late teens to mid-20s have died under “suspicious circumstances” near or around the JCU campus in the last 10 years. Four of the deaths occurred within 350 yards of the campus.

In January 2015, a student from the University of Iowa was fatally injured near the Tiber River during his first night in Rome. The student was attacked and robbed and was found wearing an orientation bracelet from the school.

After the Iowa student’s death, a school employee questioned whether the school should stop recruiting American students since they were targets. JCU President Franco Pavoncello said Americans need to learn to take care of themselves when another employee asked about doing more to prepare students.

Iowa ended its program with John Cabot University after Solomon’s death. Solomon went to the same place the Iowa student was at before he was attacked, according to the lawsuit.