SAGINAW, Michigan — A 47-year-old Michigan man will serve 32 years in prison after pleading no contest to torturing and killing his visually impaired girlfriend at a Saginaw motel, where he lived with her body for several days before a drug dealer discovered the remains and called police.
Daniel J. Varnes reached a plea agreement Tuesday with prosecutors on charges of second-degree murder, torture, and concealing a death in the killing of Teressa M. Johnson, 46. The case emerged in September 2024 when Johnson’s mutilated body was found at the Rodeway Inn and Suites on St. Mary’s Lane, about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. Varnes admitted to police that he beat Johnson repeatedly over two weeks using his fists, boots, and various tools, including needle-nose pliers he used on her mouth. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 13.
The gruesome discovery unfolded on the morning of September 1, 2024, after a drug dealer met Varnes at a nearby gas station to sell him crack cocaine. According to court testimony, Varnes took the drugs worth $60 and fled without paying. When the dealer called demanding payment, Varnes told him to come to his motel room. Inside the room, the dealer saw what appeared to be a human body covered with a blanket on the bed. When the dealer asked what was beneath the covers, Varnes responded, “You know exactly what that is,” according to testimony. Varnes then pulled back the blanket, revealing Johnson’s decomposing body, which the dealer said appeared to have been dead for several days.
Varnes told the drug dealer that Johnson had died from injuries sustained while visiting friends, but indicated that no one knew she was with him at the hotel, suggesting it would be easy to dispose of her body. The dealer immediately left the room and called 911 at approximately 1 a.m. to report the discovery. When police arrived at the scene shortly after, Varnes fled the motel on foot and ran into nearby woods. Authorities located him hiding in the forest around 4 p.m. that same day. During questioning, Varnes “admitted to committing several acts of brutality” against Johnson, prosecutors said. “He had said at one point that he ‘beat the s— out of her,'” a detective testified. “At one point in the conversation, he said he hit her at least 10 times.”
Police found Johnson’s body showing signs of malnourishment, blood, and bruises throughout. Inside the motel room, investigators recovered scissors, a ratchet, side cutters, screwdrivers, and pliers that all tested positive for Johnson’s blood. Varnes told police he used needle-nose pliers on Johnson’s mouth “to shut her up” and admitted to beating her with boots and various objects over a two-week period. An autopsy determined Johnson’s cause of death was “multiple traumatic injuries, recent and remote with related complications.” Varnes claimed Johnson was legally blind and mentally incapacitated, according to court documents. He told investigators he last saw Johnson alive around 2:30 p.m. on August 31, 2024, and was reluctant to report her death after realizing she had died.
The violent crimes occurred at a motel where Varnes had been staying for more than two months, yet neighbors reported no signs of the ongoing abuse. A woman who stayed in an adjacent room told local media she had no indication anything violent was happening. “Absolutely not, no, for the entire whole two, two and a half months that he has been our neighbor we have seen him every single day,” the neighbor said. Court records show Varnes was charged on September 1, 2024, and held without bond following his arrest. The case highlights the vulnerability of disabled victims in domestic violence situations, as Johnson’s visual impairment and alleged mental incapacitation made her particularly defenseless against the sustained abuse.
Under the plea agreement, Varnes will serve 32 years in a state correctional facility after pleading no contest to all three felony charges. The no contest plea means Varnes did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a conviction. His April 13 sentencing hearing will make the agreement official, though the terms have already been negotiated with prosecutors. Michigan’s second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, while torture is punishable by up to life imprisonment. The concealing death charge is a five-year felony. Varnes remains in custody at the Saginaw County Jail pending his sentencing appearance.
