An Italian man has been arrested in connection with the death of US teenager Beau Solomon, whose body was pulled from the River Tiber in Rome.

Police in Italy said they had detained 40-year-old homeless man Massimo Galioto, Associated Press reported, just hours after Solomon's brother Cole Solomon confirmed the death was being treated as a murder.

The body of the popular quarterback student from Wisconsin was pulled from the river on 4 July, just days after his disappearance. His brother said thousands of dollars had been charged to Solomon's credit card after he vanished.