A 20-year-old Indian man has been arrested in Germany and faces a first-degree murder charge after his 19-year-old girlfriend was found dead in her Tucson, Arizona, apartment. According to New York Post, police and emergency crews were called to an apartment near Euclid Avenue and Elm Street at around 4 pm on Thursday after the family of 19-year-old college student Julissa Rubi Salazar requested a welfare check.
Tucson Fire Department crews found Salazar unresponsive and pronounced her dead at the scene. Police said she had suffered traumatic injuries consistent with a homicide. Investigators identified her boyfriend, 20-year-old Varun Batchigari, as the main suspect. Authorities allege that Salazar was strangled.
According to police and local media reports, detectives became suspicious of Batchigari after learning that he allegedly took Salazar’s phone and credit cards and sent a series of messages to her mother. Investigators later determined that Batchigari had gone to Tucson International Airport on the day of Salazar’s death. He boarded a flight to Houston before connecting to a flight to Berlin, Germany, with plans to eventually travel to India.
Police obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Working with federal, local and international authorities, Arizona officials arranged for Batchigari to be detained after he arrived in Germany.
Salazar’s roommates had reportedly heard loud screaming coming from her bedroom on August 5, several days before she was found dead. They later texted her to check if she was okay. Salazar allegedly replied that she was fine and that the noise had been caused by an argument.
Investigators also learned that Salazar had reportedly been planning to end her relationship with Batchigari. According to local media reports, she had previously accused him of sexual assault, although the alleged incident was not reported to police.
Batchigari was also facing an unrelated assault case in Pima County, with court records showing a case filed against him in May. He had reportedly attended the University of Arizona, where he studied business analytics, but was expelled following a fight.
He had also recently lost his job, reportedly leaving him unable to pay his rent and putting his visa status at risk.
Batchigari remains in custody in Germany and is expected to be extradited to Arizona. He will then be booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center and face the first-degree murder charge.
