Indian-origin motel manager beheaded in Dallas

A Dallas motel manager was decapitated by a coworker in one of the city’s most shocking killings in recent memory, local authorities say. The victim, 50-year-old Indian-origin worker Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, was attacked with a machete after a dispute over a broken washing machine. His wife and teenage son tried to intervene but could not stop the assault.

According to a Dallas police affidavit, Nagamallaiah asked another employee to translate his instructions for 37-year-old coworker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez not to use the motel’s broken washing machine. Investigators said Cobos-Martinez became enraged, left briefly and then returned with a machete.

Surveillance video showed him chasing Nagamallaiah through the motel toward the office where the victim’s wife and 18-year-old son was present. Despite their attempts to protect him, police said Cobos-Martinez continued the assault until Nagamallaiah was beheaded. The affidavit states the suspect placed the victim’s head in a dumpster outside.

Responding officers and firefighters found Cobos-Martinez covered in blood and still holding the weapon. He was arrested at the scene and remains in custody without bond on a capital murder charge.

Records show the 37-year-old Cuban national has prior arrests in Texas, Florida and California on charges including auto theft, assault and indecency with a child. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that he had previously been detained but was released under supervision in January 2025 after Cuba refused to accept his deportation.

The killing prompted responses from officials in both the U.S. and India. The Consulate General of India in Houston issued a statement expressing condolences and confirming assistance to the family. President Donald Trump condemned the crime, calling it “terrible” and declaring that “the time for being soft is over” regarding offenders in the country unlawfully.

Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy responded to the incident with a post on X that read, “An innocent Dallas hotel manager was brutally beheaded in front of his wife & son, by an illegal migrant who had a final order of removal & such a bad criminal history that Cuba refused to accept him. He was released on Jan 13, right before Biden left office. This is horrific. It’s time to restore the rule of law.”

A fundraiser launched on behalf of Nagamallaiah’s family surpassed $320,000 in donations as of this writing.