Indian-Origin motel manager beheaded in US; co-worker arrested
Houston: A 50-year-old Indian-origin motel manager in the US was beheaded in front of his wife and son in Texas following a dispute over a washing machine, police said.
The suspect, a co-worker with a criminal record, has been arrested and charged with capital murder.
The incident took place on Wednesday morning at the Downtown Suites motel in Dallas.
Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, originally from Karnataka, was killed after a dispute over a broken washing machine with his 37-year-old Cuban co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, according to the Dallas Police Department.
Cobos-Martinez reportedly became enraged when Nagamallaiah asked another person to translate his instructions instead of addressing him directly.
Surveillance footage showed Cobos-Martinez attacking Nagamallaiah with a machete.
The victim fled toward the motel office, where his wife and 18-year-old son were present.
Nagamallaiah’s wife and son tried to intervene several times, but Cobos-Martinez pushed them away and continued the attack.
He then took the victim’s cell phone and key card from his pockets before again resuming the attack until Nagamallaiah’s head “was removed from his body”, police said in court affidavit.
“The suspect then kicked the [Nagamallaiah’s] head twice into the parking lot and proceeded to pick it up and carry it to the dumpster and put it inside,” police said.
The crime is “unthinkable”, they said.
Cobos-Martine is being held without bond. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.
According to official records, he has been arrested twice for auto theft in Florida and has indecency with a child and assault charges in Houston. The records also show an immigration hold.
ICE officials said Cobos-Martine was released under supervision earlier this year due to the lack of deportation flights to Cuba.
The Consulate General of India in Houston condoled the death of Nagamallaiah and said it is following up on the matter closely.
