A Dallas motel manager was allegedly beheaded Wednesday by an employee who police say later admitted to the killing; the suspect has been charged with capital murder and is being held without bond.
Dallas police and court records identify the suspect as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a Cuban national. An arrest-warrant affidavit obtained by CBS News says the alleged attack began after an argument over use of a broken washing machine at the Downtown Suites motel, where the manager, 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, was working with another employee.
According to the affidavit and police statements, Cobos-Martinez became irate when the manager asked a coworker to translate instructions rather than speaking to him in Spanish. Surveillance footage allegedly showed Cobos-Martinez leave a room, pull out a machete and attack Nagamallaiah. The manager ran to the motel office while under attack, where his wife and son were inside. The affidavit says family members attempted to intervene as the assault continued.
Police said witnesses called 911 and officers found Cobos-Martinez a few blocks away, covered in the victim’s blood and still holding the machete. Authorities said he told investigators in a recorded video interview that he killed the manager. Court records show Cobos-Martinez has been charged with capital murder and is being held without bond.
An ICE spokesperson told The Post that Cobos-Martinez had previously been in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson but was released on Jan. 13 because there were "no removal flights to Cuba." The spokesperson said Cuba would not accept him due to his criminal history and that ICE had lodged a detainer with the Dallas County Jail.
Cobos-Martinez’s criminal history includes multiple arrests and charges in several states, according to local news reports and court records. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in Harris County after being charged with aggravated assault in 2018 and was sentenced to one year in jail. Authorities say he was also wanted in California on allegations including carjacking and false imprisonment and was extradited there to face charges. A 2017 arrest in South Lake Tahoe was reported after an alleged attempt to carjack a 22-year-old woman.
The case is under investigation by Dallas police. Officials provided few immediate public comments beyond the charging documents and ICE’s statement about prior custody and the detainer. The affidavit and surveillance footage referenced in court filings remain part of the prosecutorial record.
The incident and ICE’s account of prior custody and release highlight the practical challenges law enforcement faces when individuals in U.S. custody cannot be removed because foreign governments decline to accept them. ICE officials did not provide additional operational details, and local prosecutors have not yet announced a schedule for initial court proceedings.
Investigators are continuing to gather and review evidence, and authorities asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Dallas police. The suspect remains in custody as the case proceeds through the criminal justice system.
