A 19-year-old University of Arizona student, Julissa “Julie” Salazar, was found strangled to death in her apartment near campus on Thursday. The alleged killer, Varun Batchigari, 20, from India, boarded a flight out of the U.S. and was captured by law enforcement in Berlin, Germany.
Background
Batchigari entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa in January 2024. He was expelled from the University of Arizona following a “fight” and was charged with assault on May 26.
Salazar’s mother stated that her daughter had broken up with Batchigari before she was found dead. The university confirmed that Batchigari was expelled on July 22 and offered condolences to Salazar’s family.
Salazar was an aspiring child psychologist working toward her degree at the University of Arizona. She was a first-generation college student and had graduated high school at the top 5% of her class.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
