New Delhi: An Indian-origin man was beheaded in front of his wife and child by his employee in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday morning. The killer then went on to kick around the man’s severed head in a parking lot before reportedly dumping it in a garbage bin.
CCTV footage of the grisly murder in broad daylight is doing the rounds on social media.
India’s Consulate General in Houston has identified the victim as Chandra Nagamallaiah. The accused, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, is in the custody of the Dallas police. According to court documents, the accused used a machete to carry out the murder.
Reports say Nagamallaiah was originally from Karnataka.
An affidavit citing video footage of the incident stated that Nagamallaiah, a motel manager, had directed Cobos-Martinez not to use a defective washing machine while he and another co-worker were cleaning a room. The accused reportedly got upset when Nagamallaiah spoke to the co-worker and asked her to translate his request.
Cobos-Martinez admitted to the killing in an interview with authorities, as per the affidavit.
Surveillance showed Cobos-Martinez chasing Nagamallaiah while wielding a machete and then striking him multiple times.
Nagamallaiah’s wife and his son are seen trying to intervene, but are pushed away by the accused, who then fished out Nagamallaiah’s key card and mobile phone before beheading him.
A blood-soaked Cobos-Martinez is then seen moving away from the scene. The footage then shows the severed head of Nagamallaiah rolling away, leaving behind a trail of blood. Cobos-Martinez then calmly walks to the head, picks it up and dumps it.
First responders followed him after seeing him leave the area and arrested him a few blocks away. Along with the machete, Nagamallaiah’s key card and phone were recovered from the accused’s person.
Several witnesses to the grisly murder described the crime as “sick and disturbing”.
A post on the Consulate General’s X account said Nagamallaiah’s was “killed brutally at his workplace”, adding: “We are in touch with the family and offering all possible assistance. The accused is in the custody of Dallas Police. We are following up on the matter closely.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Cobos-Martinez is a Cuban national who was released from prison on an order of supervision in January, following which Cuban authorities refused to let him re-enter the country, and he was recently in United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at a detention centre west of Dallas.
Fox News shared arrest records from the Dallas County Jail revealing that Cobos-Martinez is facing a charge of capital murder. He is being held without bond at the Dallas County Jail, while also being on an immigration detainer.
According to Fox 4 News, he has a violent criminal history with a conviction in California, and arrests in Florida, and Houston.
Following the incident, a family friend of the Nagamallaiah’s has organised a fundraiser for the victim’s wife and family on online crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.
Neetu Sharma is a TPSJ alum currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
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