Dallas, Texas: In an incident that has left the Indian community in shock, a 50-year-old Indian-origin motel manager was brutally murdered and decapitated in front of his family following a dispute with a co-worker over a faulty washing machine.
The victim, identified as Chandra “Bob” Nagamallaiah, worked as a manager at a motel in Dallas. According to police reports, the argument began when Nagamallaiah asked fellow employee Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, not to use a washing machine that was out of order. Witnesses said Cobos-Martinez grew enraged after Nagamallaiah chose to communicate his instructions through another worker instead of addressing him directly.
The situation spiralled into violence. Cobos-Martinez allegedly retrieved a machete, chased Nagamallaiah from room 108 to the motel office, and struck him multiple times as the victim’s wife and teenage son watched in horror. Despite their desperate attempts to intervene, the assailant overpowered Nagamallaiah.
Police affidavits describe a chilling sequence that followed: Cobos-Martinez is accused of decapitating Nagamallaiah, then carrying the severed head into the parking lot before discarding it in a dumpster. Officers arriving at the scene found the suspect covered in blood, with the machete and the victim’s belongings nearby.
He was arrested immediately and now faces charges of capital murder. Authorities confirmed he is being held without bond and is also under an immigration hold. Investigators are looking into his background, including any prior criminal history.
The gruesome killing has drawn widespread condemnation. The Consulate General of India in Houston expressed deep sorrow and said it is extending all possible support to the grieving family. Local community groups have also demanded stricter safeguards for immigrant workers, many of whom live on their job premises in vulnerable conditions.
Nagamallaiah’s death has shaken not only the motel’s staff and guests but also the wider Indian diaspora in the United States, where concerns over workplace safety and the vulnerability of migrant workers have resurfaced.
For now, the Dallas Police Department continues to investigate, piecing together the events that led to an argument over a washing machine ending in one of the most brutal crimes the city has witnessed in recent years.
