A shocking incident has sent a wave of horror and grief through the community of East Dallas, Texas, after a 50-year-old man of Indian origin was brutally murdered and beheaded by his co-worker in front of his wife and teenage son. The gruesome event took place on the morning of September 10 at the Downtown Suites Motel on Samuell Boulevard, where the victim, Chandra Nagamallaiah, had been working as a manager for three years.
According to Dallas police, the dispute began when Nagamallaiah told his employee, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, not to use a broken washing machine. The argument quickly escalated into a violent confrontation. Suddenly, Cobos-Martinez pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Nagamallaiah, who was forced to flee toward the motel office. Nagamallaiah’s wife and 18-year-old son, who were inside the office, desperately tried to intervene, but Cobos-Martinez was relentless.
The suspect beheaded Nagamallaiah in front of his family, then kicked the severed head toward the parking lot before later placing it in a dumpster. The entire horrific scene was captured on the motel’s security cameras, which showed a trail of blood from the room to the front office.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the killing “unthinkable” and admitted that Cobos-Martinez had been released from ICE custody earlier in 2025 under a supervision order due to a lack of available deportation flights to Cuba. ICE acknowledged that, in hindsight, his release was a mistake and that he should not have been free.
The suspect, a Cuban national, has now been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is being held at the Dallas County Jail, and detectives have obtained a search warrant to collect more evidence from the crime scene.
Nagamallaiah, originally from the Indian state of Karnataka, was known as a hardworking, honest, and family-oriented man who deeply cared for his loved ones. The Consulate General of India in Houston expressed profound sorrow over the incident, stating: “We are in continuous contact with the bereaved family and providing all possible assistance. The accused is in Dallas Police custody, and we are closely monitoring the case.”
The shocking murder has not only left the Indian community but also other Asian immigrant groups in deep grief and anger. On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), many users expressed outrage over the lack of mainstream media coverage and raised serious concerns about the safety of immigrant workers and the rising incidents of anti-Asian violence.
