By admin TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A memorial has been set up at the University of Arizona’s Carranza Healing Garden to honor 19-year-old student Julissa “Julie” Salazar, who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend.
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The garden is dedicated to the memory of Wildcats who have passed while attending the university.
Salazar’s death has prompted a broader conversation about domestic violence in Pima County.
Salazar was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, 20-year-old Varun Batchigari, in her Tucson apartment after she planned to break up with him.
Batchigari was arrested in Germany after law enforcement officials discovered he fled the United States to return to his home country of India the same day Salazar was found dead.
Probable cause arrest warrant for Varun Barchigari by KOLD News 13
Batchigari, who allegedly has a violent history and was expelled from the University of Arizona on July 22 — weeks before the incident — is facing charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
U of A student Samantha Reid said that while she did not know Salazar personally, hearing of her death affected her deeply.
“It hurt to know she was a fellow Wildcat and she was away from home, and this happened to her,” Reid said.
Reid created the memorial on campus.
“I just hope it sparks more conversations on campus about domestic violence awareness while still remembering her memory,” she said.
Kendrick Wilson, supervisor for the Pima County Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, said the conversation is one that needed to happen.
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“Numbers are unfortunately up. The domestic violence and especially the intimate partner domestic violence is something that we never really saw go down after the COVID spike,” Wilson said.
Sara Moody, the unit’s victim services director, said 85% of the calls her office receives for service are domestic violence related. Moody said incidents will not stop happening until warning signs are recognized.
“Your partner isolating you, lots of jealousy, maybe telling you who you can hang out with, financial coercion, obviously the emotional, the physical, and the sexual abuse can happen in there too,” Moody said.
Wilson said early reporting is critical.
“We encourage people out there if they know people who are being strangled, if they know people who have been threatened with weapons — those are elevated risk factors,” Wilson said.
In May, Pima County approved additional funding for the attorney’s office’s victim services department in response to the increase in domestic violence in the county.
Moody said the funding is allowing the office to strengthen its partnership with domestic abuse awareness partners and could allow for the passing of laws in court that protect victims.
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