A 20-year-old student enrolled at the University of Arizona was arrested in Germany after U.S. authorities secured an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of his 19-year-old girlfriend. The suspect, identified as Varun Batchigari, faces allegations that he killed Julissa Rubi Salazar at her Tucson apartment on August 6 and then attempted to leave the country.
Composite image showing the woman believed to be the 19-year-old Arizona victim (left) and a video still of the man authorities say was arrested in Germany in connection with her killing (right).
Investigators say Batchigari traveled to Tucson International Airport after the alleged killing, boarded a flight to Germany and planned to continue onward to India. Detectives later obtained a warrant charging him with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Through coordinated work between Tucson law enforcement, the FBI’s Tucson office and the FBI legal attaché in Berlin, he was taken into custody upon his arrival in Germany, preventing further travel, officials reported.
Authorities allege that after the death, the suspect took Salazar’s cellphone and credit cards and sent several text messages to her mother while posing as Salazar in an apparent effort to hide what had happened. Those messages prompted concern from family members, who requested a welfare check. Officers conducting that check found Salazar’s body inside the apartment.
Emergency responders were called to the residence at about 4 p.m. on August 6 on a reported cardiac arrest. Tucson Fire Department crews arriving at the scene found Salazar dead on the apartment floor with a blanket pulled up to her neck, and they reported visible marks of strangulation and scratches on her neck. Those observations led the fire crew to request police response, and the scene then became a homicide investigation.
The arrest warrant also recounts prior incidents involving the suspect. It notes that the University of Arizona Police Department had investigated a previous assault matter involving Batchigari. Multiple witnesses interviewed by investigators said Salazar had moved out after experiencing problems with Batchigari in late 2025 and had planned to end the relationship because of what witnesses described as a history of domestic violence.
The warrant further includes allegations from several witnesses about past violent behavior. One witness told investigators that Batchigari had sexually assaulted her at a Halloween party, but that she had not reported the alleged assault to law enforcement at the time. Those statements are part of the broader investigative file being used to support the charges and the arrest warrant.
Federal records show Batchigari remained in lawful immigration status at the time of the alleged killing, even as other records indicate he had been expelled from the university. He is currently being held in Germany while U.S. authorities move forward with extradition proceedings. Once returned to Arizona, he is expected to be booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on the outstanding warrant.