Overview
- Investigators found 19-year-old Julissa Rubi Salazar dead in her Tucson apartment with traumatic injuries after a family welfare check, and Tucson police identified her boyfriend as the prime suspect.
- Detectives say 20-year-old Varun Batchigari flew out of Tucson on Aug. 6, connected through Houston and arrived in Germany where officers took him into custody on an Arizona arrest warrant.
- Authorities obtained warrants for first-degree murder and kidnapping and credited the FBI, U.S. Marshals, CBP, HSI and Munich police for coordinating the overseas arrest.
- Officials and court documents allege Batchigari used Salazar’s phone and bank cards while fleeing and that his extradition to Arizona is pending before he will be booked on the warrants.
- Reporting includes allegations of prior sexual and domestic violence, an open Pima County assault case and university and visa troubles; those claims are part of the investigation and have not been adjudicated.