The shocking incident unfolded on Wednesday at the Downtown Suites Motel in Dallas, where 50-year-old Indian-origin victim Chandra Nagamallaiah was brutally murdered by his co-worker, 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a Cuban national. Both men were employed at the motel, and the violent episode began as a seemingly small dispute regarding the use of a broken washing machine. What started as an argument quickly escalated into a horrific act of violence that has left the community stunned.
According to the Dallas Police Department’s arrest affidavit, Cobos-Martinez was cleaning a motel room with a female colleague when Nagamallaiah intervened, instructing him not to use the faulty washing machine. Reports suggest that tensions rose when Nagamallaiah asked the colleague to translate his instructions rather than addressing Cobos-Martinez directly. This remark reportedly infuriated the accused and set off a chain of events that spiraled into an unthinkable tragedy.
Investigators have confirmed that surveillance footage captured the moments leading up to the gruesome murder. The video reportedly shows Cobos-Martinez stepping out of the motel room, pulling out a machete, and launching a frenzied attack on Nagamallaiah. Witnesses recalled scenes of horror as the victim, desperately attempting to escape, ran toward the motel office where his wife and son were present. Despite the frantic efforts of his family to intervene, the accused continued his assault with relentless blows, ultimately decapitating Nagamallaiah in front of his loved ones.
The affidavit further reveals that in the aftermath of the killing, Cobos-Martinez committed shocking acts of brutality. Witnesses and police reports detail how the suspect kicked the severed head into the motel parking lot before retrieving it and discarding it in a garbage bin. He was arrested shortly afterward and, during police questioning, confessed to carrying out the murder.
Meanwhile, deeper investigations into Cobos-Martinez’s past have uncovered a disturbing criminal history. Public records indicate that he had been previously involved in various offenses, not only in Houston, Texas, but also in other states, including Florida and California. His violent past has now drawn attention to broader questions of immigration enforcement. The US Department of Homeland Security revealed that he had originally been slated for deportation, but Cuba declined to accept him back because of his extensive criminal background. This refusal led to his eventual release under the previous administration, a decision now under scrutiny in light of the recent killing.
Cobos-Martinez has since been charged with capital murder and is being held at the Dallas County Jail. The case has sparked outrage among local communities, Indian diaspora groups, and policymakers, with many demanding answers about how such a dangerous individual was allowed to remain in the country. For Nagamallaiah’s family, however, the loss remains immeasurable, as a workplace disagreement over a broken machine ended in a nightmare that has shaken Dallas and beyond.
