Tucson Murder Suspect Arrested In Germany After Girlfriend's Death

TUCSON, AZ — A 20-year-old man accused of killing his 19-year-old girlfriend in a Tucson apartment was arrested in Germany after police say he fled the country and planned to continue on to India.

Varun Batchigari is awaiting extradition to Arizona, where he is expected to be booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on an outstanding warrant charging him with first-degree murder and kidnapping, according to the Tucson Police Department.

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Tucson firefighters and police responded around 4 p.m. Aug. 6 to an apartment near North Tyndall Avenue and East Chauncey Lane after family members requested a welfare check for an unresponsive person, officials said.

When first responders went inside, they found 19-year-old Julissa Rubi Salazar dead with signs of trauma.

Detectives with the Tucson Police Department's Homicide Unit, along with crime scene personnel, investigated Salazar's death by processing the apartment, conducting interviews and examining forensic evidence.

Police said their investigation led detectives to identify Batchigari, who was Salazar's boyfriend, as the suspect in her killing.

Investigators determined that Batchigari traveled to Tucson International Airport on Aug. 6, where he boarded a flight to Germany and planned to continue traveling to India, his home country, according to police. Before he could continue his trip, Batchigari was taken into custody after arriving in Germany.

The arrest involved coordination between the Tucson Police Department, the FBI Tucson Office, the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Berlin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service and Munich police, officials said.

"The Tucson Police Department is grateful for the assistance and coordination provided by our federal and international partners," the department said in a statement, crediting the agencies with helping locate Batchigari and coordinate his arrest in Germany.

The investigation into Salazar's death remains ongoing, police said.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been created to support Salazar's family following her death. The fundraiser describes Salazar as a beloved daughter, sister and friend whose life was cut short while she was away at college in Tucson.

According to the fundraiser, Salazar is survived by her parents and two younger sisters. Donations will help cover funeral and memorial expenses, transportation to return Salazar home from Tucson, counseling and emotional support for her family, and support for her younger sisters, organizers wrote.

The family is also asking people who cannot donate to share the fundraiser or help spread the word.

Tucson police also released updated homicide figures. The department reported 35 homicides year to date in 2025, compared with 25 homicides year to date in 2026 — a drop of 10 killings at the same point in time, officials said.