An individual identified as Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a Cuban national who entered the United States illegally and was released from ICE custody in January 2025, has been charged with capital murder following the beheading of a motel manager in Old East Dallas, Texas.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Downtown Suites motel near Interstate 30 and the Tenison Golf Course. The victim, Chandra Nagamallaiah, 50, was reportedly attacked with a machete and decapitated. According to Fox News, surveillance footage captured Cobos-Martinez kicking the severed head in the parking lot before disposing of it in a dumpster.
Cobos-Martinez’s criminal record includes prior incidents across several states. He had previously faced charges for false imprisonment in California (disposition unknown), indecency with a child in Texas (dismissed), grand theft of a vehicle in Florida (dismissed), and was acquitted of carjacking but convicted of false imprisonment in California.
Dallas police arrived at the scene alongside Dallas Fire-Rescue, where Nagamallaiah was pronounced dead. Images from local news showed crime scene tape and partitions around the area where the body was discovered.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin stated: “BREAKING: Per multiple federal sources to @FoxNews, the suspect arrested in the grisly machete beheading of a motel manager in Dallas, TX yesterday is a Cuban illegal alien who was released into the US by the Biden admin in January despite having an active deportation order.”
Cobos-Martinez remains in custody as authorities continue their investigation into the homicide.
