The case against Daniel J. Varnes now moves to sentencing after prosecutors said his girlfriend died from multiple traumatic injuries in a Saginaw motel room.

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan man accused of torturing and killing his visually impaired girlfriend in a motel room pleaded no contest March 3 to second-degree murder, torture and concealing a death, shifting a case that had been headed for trial into its final stage before sentencing.

The plea matters because it locks in criminal responsibility in one of the area’s most brutal homicide cases without forcing witnesses, investigators and the victim’s relatives through a full trial. Prosecutors said Daniel J. Varnes abused Teressa M. Johnson over days inside a room at the Rodeway Inn and Suites on St. Mary’s Lane in Saginaw Township before she died. Her body was found Sept. 1, 2024. Sentencing was scheduled for April 13, 2026, according to the latest public reporting.

Varnes, 47, entered the no-contest plea the same day his trial was scheduled to begin, according to later court coverage. The charges stem from what police and prosecutors have described as a prolonged attack on Johnson, 46, at the motel. Authorities said the case broke open after a man who had gone to the room to collect money saw what looked like a body under a blanket on the bed and called 911. Courtroom reporting later said the witness had met Varnes near the motel during a drug deal, then went to the room after Varnes took crack cocaine without paying the agreed-upon $60. Once inside, the witness said he asked what was under the covers. Varnes replied, “You know exactly what that is,” before pulling back the blanket, according to testimony recounted in local coverage. The witness then left and alerted police.

Officers arrived in the early morning hours of Sept. 1, 2024 and found Johnson dead in the motel room. Police said Varnes ran from the scene on foot and disappeared into nearby woods before authorities found him later that afternoon. In subsequent interviews, prosecutors said, Varnes admitted to repeated violence against Johnson. A detective testified that Varnes said he had “beat the s— out of her” and struck her at least 10 times. Flint television station WJRT, citing prosecutors, reported that the abuse included blows with fists, boots and objects, and that Varnes used needle-nose pliers on Johnson’s mouth “to shut her up.” Investigators also recovered scissors, a ratchet, side cutters, screwdrivers and pliers from the room, and reporting on the case said the items tested positive for Johnson’s blood. An autopsy listed the cause of death as multiple traumatic injuries, recent and remote, with related complications.

The record that emerged in public reports shows how the case developed over time. In the first days after Johnson’s death, prosecutors charged Varnes with torture, assault-related counts and concealing a death. During a September 2024 court hearing, a prosecuting attorney said Johnson had been found badly beaten in bed. Local reporting at the time said investigators believed she had spent one to two weeks at the motel with Varnes before she died. Johnson’s family was then left to absorb the news. Her brother, Jeremy Johnson, told Mid-Michigan NOW that a police officer came to his door and said his sister had been “brutally murdered.” In an obituary posted by Swartz Funeral Home, Johnson was identified as a former Burton resident who was born Dec. 8, 1977, and died Sept. 1, 2024. The memorial notice listed services at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Burton later that month.

By the time of the plea, the legal path had narrowed. Varnes pleaded no contest to second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder, along with torture and concealing a death. A no-contest plea is not the same as a spoken admission of guilt in open court, but it results in a conviction and allows a judge to proceed to sentencing. Public reports said Varnes reached a deal with prosecutors to serve 32 years in a state correctional facility. That agreement avoided a trial that would likely have centered on the witness who called 911, detectives who interviewed Varnes, the forensic evidence recovered from the room and the medical examiner’s conclusions about Johnson’s injuries. As of April 1, 2026, the most recent public reporting still listed sentencing for April 13, meaning the final prison term had not yet been publicly imposed.

The story has also carried the voices of people outside the courtroom. A woman who stayed in the room next to Varnes for more than two months told WJRT she had no idea such violence could have been unfolding nearby. “Absolutely not, no,” she said, adding that she and others had seen him every day. Johnson’s brother spoke far more directly about loss than procedure. He said his sister was outgoing, from Flint and Burton, and central to what remained of his family. “What he did to me was take my sister away from me,” Jeremy Johnson told the station. Those remarks did not change the legal record, but they sharpened what the plea papers and charge sheets could not: the fact that the case was not only about a motel room and a list of tools, but about a woman whose death left relatives waiting nearly 19 months for the court to reach sentencing.

Varnes remained in custody and was next due in court April 13, 2026, for sentencing. The next milestone was whether the judge would formally impose the 32-year prison term described in public reports.

Author note: Last updated April 1, 2026.