ROME — An American tourist was killed by a train as he walked on the tracks in a daze after he drank a cappuccino laced with drugs and then was robbed, railway police said Monday.
Frank Phel, 74, of California, died early Friday at the Tiburtina station, police official Giovanni Piccolantonio said.
The suspected robber, a 54-year-old Italian man who was arrested Saturday, had chatted with Phel and his wife before fetching them cappuccinos and then adding a mix of drugs including sleeping pills, Piccolantonio said.
“This man approached these two tourists and earned their trust, and then offered them two cappuccinos with drugs,” Piccolantonio said. The robbery was filmed by security cameras at a nearby cafe, he said.
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