Trigger Warning: This article contains references to the alleged sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.
An American college student’s attempt to break up ended in her death. Julissa Rubi Salazar, a 19-year-old University of Arizona student, was found dead in her off-campus apartment in Tucson, Arizona, on August 6. The tragic discovery came after her concerned mother requested a welfare check on her after receiving inconsistent messages from her phone.
First responders with Tucson fire crews arrived at her apartment around 4 p.m. and found her with obvious signs of trauma. According to court documents, she was found lying on the floor with a blanket pulled up to her neck, hiding strangulation marks and scratches on her neck.
Investigators did not have to look far for a suspect. After interviewing her roommates, police determined Salazar’s boyfriend, Varun Batchigari, a 20-year-old Indian studying at the same university, was the accused killer, thus named in an arrest warrant. The charges against him are first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Salazar’s roommates reportedly told police she had been planning to break up with Batchigari after he’d s*xually assaulted her in the past, and that she was afraid of him. A roommate even said she heard loud screaming and yelling for several minutes from the victim’s room a day before she was murdered. When she texted Salazar, she replied that she was fine and that it was just an argument.
However, it wasn’t true. Investigators say Batchigari killed her the day after the fight and took her phone and bank card to book a ride to Tucson International Airport. He also texted Salazar’s mother, posing as her daughter, which she sensed didn’t read right concerning her, and called police for a welfare check.
Batchigari had come up with an escape plan. He would go from Houston to Berlin, ultimately reaching India, but it wasn’t successful. The FBI’s Tucson field office had already alerted its legal attaché in Berlin, and German authorities took him into custody when he landed.
After further investigation into Batchigari’s background, detectives found a disturbing history of violence. A woman told detectives he’d s*xually assaulted her at a Halloween party, though she never reported it at the time. Another witness said he was expelled from the university due to a fight and had recently lost his job, which reportedly threatened his student visa status and left him struggling to make rent.
According to court records, there was also a pending Pima County case against him for assault that caused injury, stemming from an incident in May 2026.
Batchigari is now in German custody and awaiting extradition to Arizona to face trial on the murder and kidnapping charges.
Meanwhile, Salazar’s family and friends have set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs. The page describes her as a daughter, sister, and friend who leaves behind two younger sisters and parents who love and miss her more than words can express.
Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.
