Dallas police said a 50-year-old Indian-origin man, Chandramouli Nagamallaiah, was brutally beheaded in front of his wife and son during a violent altercation at a local motel.
The attack occurred on the morning of September 10 at the Downtown Suites motel on Samuell Boulevard, east of downtown Dallas. The accused, 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, who was also employed at the motel, has been arrested and charged with capital murder.
According to an arrest affidavit released Thursday, the violence stemmed from an argument over the use of a broken washing machine. Nagamallaiah had told Cobos-Martinez and a female co-worker not to use it while cleaning a room. Police said the suspect grew angry because the message was relayed through the woman—who translated for Nagamallaiah—instead of being addressed directly to him.
Citing video evidence, investigators said Cobos-Martinez left the room, pulled out a machete, and launched a frenzied attack. A motel employee who witnessed the incident told police: “He chased him from Room 108 all the way to the office. The man was trying to reach his family.”
Nagamallaiah ran toward the motel office where his wife and son were present. Despite their repeated attempts to stop the assault, Cobos-Martinez forced them aside and continued attacking until the victim was decapitated. The affidavit notes the suspect then kicked the severed head twice before discarding it in a dumpster.
Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel arriving at the scene spotted Cobos-Martinez still holding the bloodied machete. They kept him in sight until police moved in and arrested him. Officers said the suspect admitted to the killing during interrogation.
Jail records show Cobos-Martinez is being held at Dallas County Jail on a capital murder charge, with an immigration hold also placed against him. His criminal history includes prior arrests for auto theft in Florida and assault and indecency with a child in Houston.
Images from the scene showed crime scene tape cordoning off the motel and a partition shielding a body on the sidewalk.
