A Dallas motel manager was brutally murdered last week in a machete attack that officials say was carried out by a Cuban national with a history of violent crimes and a final order of removal from the United States.
Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was arrested Sept. 11 after police found him covered in blood and armed with the machete allegedly used to kill Chandra Nagamallaiah, 50, at a motel northeast of downtown Dallas. Court records say Cobos-Martinez confessed to the killing.
According to an arrest affidavit, the confrontation began after Nagamallaiah told Cobos-Martinez not to use a broken washing machine. Surveillance video cited in the affidavit showed Cobos-Martinez leaving a motel room with a machete and attacking Nagamallaiah. The victim tried to flee to the office but was pursued and repeatedly cut and stabbed. At one point, Nagamallaiah’s wife and son attempted to intervene but were pushed aside.
Investigators said Cobos-Martinez continued the assault “until [the victim’s] head was removed from his body.” He then placed the severed head in a dumpster before being arrested a short distance away. Officers recovered the machete along with the victim’s cellphone and key card.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Cobos-Martinez is a Cuban national with a final order of removal. Records show he was most recently held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, but was released under supervision in January 2025 after Cuba refused to accept him back because of his criminal record.
Court and police records outline a violent past. In 2017, Cobos-Martinez was arrested in South Lake Tahoe, California, after attempting to carjack a woman while naked. He was convicted of false imprisonment in that case. He was later arrested in Harris County, Texas, on charges of indecency with a child, though that case was dismissed. In another incident, he was accused of breaking a jailer’s jaw during a fight. Prosecutors in California said he violated probation and absconded in 2023.
Homeland Security officials said the case underscores the danger posed when criminal aliens remain in U.S. communities. “This barbaric criminal was released because Cuba would not accept him due to his criminal history,” DHS said in a statement.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added that cases like Cobos-Martinez highlight the administration’s push to deport offenders to “third countries” willing to accept them.
The murder has also drawn attention from across the political spectrum. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote on social media that “the murderer had multiple prior arrests for violent theft and child endangerment and was undocumented. He should not have been free on American streets.”
Cobos-Martinez is being held without bond in the Dallas County Jail on suspicion of capital murder and under an immigration detainer.
