Authorities still probing fall that killed Glen Ellyn man in Rome
Andrew Mogni was so looking forward to spending his semester studying abroad in Rome, his parents said, he took Italian language classes for more than a year so he could get the most out of the experience.
Something went terribly wrong, however, within hours of his arrival in Rome on Jan. 14.
The 20-year-old from Glen Ellyn died Sunday, almost three months after suffering serious injuries in a suspicious fall. Andrew's father, Ben Mogni, said police in the Trastevere district of Rome are continuing to investigate.
“We know he was at a restaurant celebrating with friends, and he left at 1 a.m. And we know he was found at 1:45 a.m. laying at the base of the Tiber River,” Ben Mogni said Wednesday. “They told us he suffered a 30- to 40-foot fall, and when they found him, he had no cellphone, no wallet and the gold cross he wore on his neck was missing.”
The case, however, has proved difficult to solve.
“We'd love to hear that they've found the perpetrators, but there are no cameras that caught it on tape,” Ben Mogni said.
Andrew, his father said, arrived in Rome just six hours before his fall. He was a junior, studying finance and business analytics at the University of Iowa, and was scheduled to spend the semester at John Cabot University.
When he wasn't studying, his father said, Andrew was known to photograph squirrels and text the photos to random friends and family.
“It was just something he thought was funny. And if you got a squirrel from him, you knew he was thinking about you,” he said. “He would do anything to make sure those around him were having fun and loving life.”
Andrew also learned how to play the ukulele and guitar and had to begun to write his own songs.
“He truly enjoyed music in many forms,” his father said. “He also took great joy every summer in volunteering at a local muscular dystrophy camp and assisting the wheelchair-bound campers.”
News of Andrew's death reached Iowa and his 45 fellow students still in Rome late Sunday.
Autumn Tallman, associate director of the university's study abroad program, sent students an email offering counseling services to students in both locations.
“Andrew put up a very valiant fight while receiving medical care in Rome and more recently in the Chicago area,” Tallman wrote. “I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for the support many of you demonstrated to Andrew's family during their stay in Rome.”
Andrew's parents and two brothers went to Rome for about 70 days while Andrew was hospitalized there. His father said Andrew's condition had stabilized enough by late March that he was able to be flown home to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Ben Mogni said a candlelight vigil is tentatively being planned for Saturday evening, following Andrew's burial.
He is survived by his parents, Ben and Theresa, and his brothers, Benjamin and Stephen. Visitation is scheduled for 3 to 8 p.m. Friday at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, in Wheaton. The funeral mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Petronille Church, 420 Glenwood Ave, in Glen Ellyn.