The Arizona girlfriend killing case took a sharp turn when authorities said the suspect fled the country and was arrested at a German airport before he could reach India. Varun Batchigari is suspected of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of 19-year-old college student Julissa Rubi Salazar, who was found dead Thursday in her apartment near the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Police said Salazar was discovered around 4 p.m. after officers responded to a report of an unresponsive person. The call came after her family requested a welfare check on their daughter, according to the Tucson Police Department. Investigators said she had signs of trauma. Batchigari, Salazar’s boyfriend, quickly became the prime suspect after he allegedly took her phone and credit cards and sent messages to her mother that raised alarm within the family, according to KOLD.
Officials said Batchigari made his escape through Tucson International Airport, flying first to Houston and then on to Berlin, Germany. Authorities believed he was on his way back to his home country of India. Tucson police said an arrest warrant was issued, and Arizona officials worked with federal agents to detain him after he arrived in Germany. He is expected to be extradited to Arizona and booked into Pima County Adult Detention on the murder charge.
The case has also drawn attention because of what investigators say was happening before Salazar died. According to KOLD, she had planned to end the relationship after Batchigari allegedly sexually assaulted her in the past. Her roommates reportedly heard loud screaming from her room for several minutes on Aug. 5, days before her body was found. They later texted her to check on her, and received a message saying she was fine and that it had only been an argument.
