A 37-year-old man named Yordanis Cobos-Martinez has been identified as the suspect in the case of an apparent stabbing and beheading at a Dallas motel on Wednesday morning (US time). According to official records, the man arrested and charged with capital murder is a Cuban national.
Unfortunately, the deceased victim was identified as the manager of the motel, Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah, a 50-year-old Indian-origin man.
Beheading case suspect Yordanis Cobos-Martinez arrested
As per an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant, Cobos-Martinez, an employee at the same motel, was arrested with a machete that he is believed to have used to decapitate and kill the Indian national. At the time of his arrest, the Cuban suspect was covered in blood. He is currently being held without a bond on an immigration detainer, as per Fox4News.
Court records cited in numerous US news reports suggested that Yordanis left Nagamallaiah’s head in a trash bin after his alleged violent undertaking.
Cuban national Yordanis Cobos-Martinez’s criminal history revealed
Now on an immigration hold, Cobos-Martinez was revealed to have a violent criminal history. His prior brushes with the law include a California conviction, and he was previously arrested in Florida and Houston.
ICE had even confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that the Cuban national was let off from ICE custody on January 13 even though his removal order reportedly quoted “no significant likelihood for removal in the foreseeable future.” The government agency confirmed to WFAA that he was being held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson. His release was ultimately prompted due to a lack of “removal flights to Cuba.”
Offering further clarification, ICE said the suspect was under a past Final Order of Removal to Cuba.” They suggested that he was released from detention amid pending potential deportation as Cuba refused to accept him “because of his criminal history.”
Even at the time of the murder at the Dallas motel, an active warrant for a probation violation out of California had already been issued in the Cuban man’s name. His other legal embroilments have registered him carjacking a woman in south Lake Tahoe while he was naked. The incident took place in 2017, leading to his conviction in 2023 and his subsequent year-and-a-half-long prison sentence.
Yordanis Cobos-Martinez admitted to the Indian man’s murder
The Cuban suspect has since admitted to using a machete to kill the Indian-origin victim. The affidavit details cited in US media reports indicated that after Cobos-Martinez was transferred to the Dallas Police headquarters, he provided statements that aligned with the horrifying visuals of the incident captured in a video obtained from the scene. The clip capturing the unsettling development has since been circulating on social media as well.
Cobos-Martinez is said to have killed Nagamallaiah in front of his wife and son. The arrest affidavit released on Wednesday evening stated that the suspect and his colleague were cleaning a room when the Indian victim came up to him and advised him against using a broken washing machine.
As per the co-worker’s account, the Cuban man, who was living and working at the motel, got upset over the fact that Nagamallaiah was talking to her to translate to instead of speaking directly to him. The official document further states that a video corroborates claims that Cobos-Martinez walked out of the motel room and “produced a machete from his person and started cutting and stabbing the complainant multiple times.”
Nagamallaiah tried his best to escape the situation by running toward the office, but tripped and fell, according to a witness. His wife and son also tried stopping the other man. Witnesses, however, underlined that the Cuban national continued his onslaught. After killing the Indian man, the suspect indecently kicked his chopped off head into the parking let, and eventually threw it in a dumpster.