A Dallas motel manager of Indian origin was brutally beheaded after reportedly telling a guest not to use a broken washing machine. The suspect, 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, committed the horrific crime in front of the victim's wife and children.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials claim he should not have been in the United States at the time of the incident.
The victim, Chandra Nagamallaiah, was managing the Downtown Suites motel when the tragic incident took place. ICE described the beheading as "unthinkable." Police later arrested Cobos-Martinez, who was wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt at the time of his capture.
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Dallas horror: Who is Yordanis Cobos-Martinez? Suspect behind Indian man's beheading'Don't know how to explain': Witness
"I don't know how to explain, but he was there and not there at the same time," a witness who saw the attack said to NBC DFW.
New surveillance video shows the moment Cobos-Martinez tossed the machete he used to attack the manager. Court records obtained Thursday show the suspect left the victim’s head in a trash bin.
A department spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for more details. But the statement said the case supports the Trump administration’s efforts to deport undocumented people to so-called "third countries," or places where the person may have no connections, reported by NBC news.
How the attack unfolded
According to the affidavit, Cobos-Martinez admitted to the killing in an interview with authorities.
The horrific scene unfolded as the victim, Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah from Karnataka, got into an argument with Cobos-Martinez over a malfunctioning washing machine, PTI reported.
Cobos-Martinez and a woman were cleaning a room at the time, the affidavit says. He became upset because Nagamallaiah didn’t speak to him directly and instead relied on the woman for translation, according to the affidavit.
A graphic and disturbing video reportedly showed the killer brutally attacking the motel manager. The victim was seen lying on the ground, severely injured, while the manager's wife and child tried to intervene. Despite their efforts, the attacker continued the assault and ultimately beheaded Nagamallaiah.
The video shows the blood-soaked scene as the attacker separated the victim's head from his body, kicked it across the ground, and finally picked it up and threw it into a trash bin.
Criminal history of suspect
Cobos-Martinez has a long criminal record, including arrests and convictions for grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, carjacking, and indecency with a child through sexual contact.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Cobos-Martinez is a Cuban national. The department, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, added that a previous administration had “released” him after “Cuba would not accept him because of his criminal history.”
Details from the affidavit
The affidavit cited video showing Cobos-Martinez leaving the motel room, producing a machete and repeatedly cutting and stabbing Nagamallaiah. Screaming, Nagamallaiah fled to the motel’s front office, but Cobos-Martinez followed and continued to cut him, according to the affidavit.
At one point, the victim's wife and son tried to stop Cobos-Martinez, but he pushed them away and continued assaulting Nagamallaiah, the affidavit says. Cobos-Martinez removed a key card and a cellphone from Nagamallaiah’s pockets and continued cutting the victim “until his head was removed from his body,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit says Cobos-Martinez then kicked Nagamallaiah’s head into the parking lot, picked it up, and put it in a dumpster.
Arrest and evidence
First responders saw Cobos-Martinez fleeing the area and followed him. Officers took him into custody roughly a block away.
In addition to having the machete, the affidavit says, Cobos-Martinez was found with Nagamallaiah’s key card and cellphone.