A devoted student, a track athlete, and now a suspect in the murder of a Burbank teacher

Before he was accused of murdering a local elementary school teacher and seriously injuring his oldest daughter, Sergio Fraire was known to his classmates at Burbank High as a dedicated student and track athlete.

The former student says he ran middle distances, cross-country, and set an example for younger runners until he graduated in 2013.

But that image of Fraire took a toll this week, after a SWAT team descended on her second-floor apartment and arrested her for allegedly stabbing to death her favorite teacher on Monday and nearly killing her daughter, a mental health advocate and public speaker.

Fraire, 30, faces special charges of murder, attempted murder and residential burglary after prosecutors say he stabbed to death Arti Varma, 59, and critically injured his 25-year-old daughter Monday morning at their home on North Brighton Street in Burbank.

He pleaded not guilty in court in Pasadena on Thursday and is being held without bail. His attorney, Mayda Lissette Flores-Medrano, declined to speak to a Los Angeles Times reporter.

Varma, a first grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School, died from her injuries Monday. His daughter, Meera Varma, is recovering in hospital.

The connection between Fraire and the alleged victims remains unclear, but their families clash in the academic world.

Fraire's older sister is a part-time special education teacher for kindergarten through first-grade students at Bret Harte Elementary — the same school where the elder Varma spent the last 15 years of his career, according to interviews and public records. But it is not clear whether Fraire knew the Varma family. Several calls to Fraire's relatives went unanswered.

“Detectives are continuing to investigate the relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims, as well as the motive,” Lt. Brent Fekety, a spokesman for the Burbank Police Department, told The Times.

Arti Varma was known as a cheerful and positive teacher who would push his students to do their best. He left India after spending his childhood there with a “loving, extended family” and had two children, according to the school's website.

Meera Varma is a nationally known mental health activist who became passionate about youth mental health after enduring her own struggles in high school, according to a 2022 LA Times article. He was small talker at the TED x UCLA event in 2023 and participated in a mental health conference at UCLA with media mogul Oprah Winfrey. He has been invited to the White House to speak on the issue of mental health and youth policy, according to his website.

Investigators identified Fraire as their suspect after interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage from home cameras in the area.

Fekety said surveillance video shows Fraire walking about three kilometers between his home on East Palm Avenue and Varma's home before being stabbed.

Prosecutors say Fraire entered the Varma family home between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday while he was asleep.

If convicted of all charges, Fraire faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.

The violence has rattled the tight-knit community, especially at Bret Harte Elementary, where students and staff have just endured the loss of a kindergarten teacher who was also killed in her home.

“Arti was a wonderful teacher and a sweet lady. The community feels her loss especially at Bret Harte Elementary,” said neighbor Emma Strattan, who went to school with Meera Varma.

The case has sparked concern and speculation as investigators search for answers.

As a junior, Fraire spent three years on the Burbank High School track team as a middle distance runner and four years on the school's cross country team, often placing in the top spots during meets.

He was named most outstanding freshman, sophomore and first team all-around his junior year of cross country. He also has a black belt in martial arts and was part of the school's Spanish club, according to his college recruiting profile.

He can run 1500 meters in 4 minutes 20 seconds and 5K in 14 minutes 50 seconds, his page says.

Among those running with Fraire is Andres Pulgarin, who was a year after Fraire at Burbank High and saw him as a good role model for student-athletes looking to improve.

“I've only had good experiences with him,” said Pulgarin. “He was always a cheerleader for his teammates – on and off the field. He was a very good student and took Advanced Placement classes in high school.”

So when Pulgarin saw his former colleague's mug shot online about the double stabbing, he was surprised.

Fraire looked completely different from the kid he remembered from his high school years. Pulgarin didn't keep up with Fraire after he graduated, except for a Burbank track meet Fraire attended as a college freshman to support his former band.

“He got arrested late, so I think he slept through the night, but that mug shot looks so different from the pictures I had in high school,” Pulgarin said. “He looks sad.”

Fraire attended school in San Diego after graduating from Burbank, Pulgarin said. The Times could not independently verify those details.

By 2019, Fraire was employed at World Market in Burbank and working toward a psychology degree at Glendale Community College with the goal of eventually becoming a psychiatrist, according to court records and interviews.

In February of that year, his co-worker was accused of sexual harassment, according to his petition for a temporary restraining order filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In his letter opposing the restraining order, Fraire denied any assault, saying any intercourse was consensual. He also provided a letter of recommendation from two of his instructors at Glendale Community College.

Another letter was written by Richard Kamei, a sociology professor at the school, and in it, Fraire is described as someone who “takes his education seriously.”

“It is clear that he has a sincere interest in understanding the story so that he can better understand the complexities of the world he lives in so that he can participate in making positive change,” Kamei wrote. He also said that Fraire does volunteer work in the college's Students Talk About Race program. Kamei did not respond to The Times' request for comment.

A second letter from another instructor was filed with the court and confirmed that Fraire attended every class while enrolled in his Psychology 101 course.

A judge issued a temporary restraining order in February 2019, but less than three months later, Fraire and the woman reached an agreement to have it lifted. Both parties agreed to stay away from each other, according to court records.