In a horrifying incident that has shaken the Indian American community in Texas, 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, a motel manager in Dallas, was brutally killed and beheaded following a petty dispute.
According to police reports, Nagamallaiah was attacked with a machete by his co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, who worked at the motel cleaning rooms.
The attack unfolded in front of Nagamallaiah’s wife and son. Witnesses described chilling details, saying the suspect attempted to hide the victim’s remains in a dumpster.
Speaking to local station WFAA, Kim, a motel employee, said they knew Nagamallaiah as “Bob, the manager,” and recalled him as someone who never caused problems. Another worker, Stephanie, described the attack as lasting several minutes. “He kept hitting and hitting until he decapitated him. He then kicked the head, picked it up and threw it in the trash can,” she told reporters.
Dallas police responded to a call on the morning of Sept. 10 at the Downtown Suites Dallas motel on Samuell Blvd., not far from the Cotton Bowl stadium. Officers arrested 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez a block away, drenched in blood and still armed with the machete.
According to the arrest affidavit, Cobos-Martinez attacked the victim with a machete following an argument reportedly over a broken washing machine. The affidavit further states that the suspect later confessed to killing the Indian American businessman during a recorded police interview.
Dallas Fire-Rescue officials confirmed that Nagamallaiah died of his injuries at the scene. Reports noted the attack was so brutal that the victim was beheaded.
Cobos-Martinez has since been charged with capital murder. Records show he was previously arrested and convicted in California in 2017 on charges of stealing a car.
The killing has left the local Indian American community in shock, with many struggling to come to terms with the brutality of the crime. In Dallas-area Indian American circles, the tragedy has sparked conversations about the risks faced by immigrants working in vulnerable industries such as motels.
On a local social platform, one Dallas resident remarked that “maybe the time has come when Indian origin owners should hire people from the same community,” reflecting how incidents like these can deepen divisions within the community.