Dallas County has indicted Yordanis Cobos-Martinez on a capital murder charge in the beheading death of Chandramouli Nagamallaiah at a Dallas motel.
DALLAS — A Cuban immigrant with a violent criminal history has been indicted on federal charges in connection with the gruesome beheading of a man at a Dallas motel.
Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was formally charged in October with capital murder in the death of 50-year-old Chandramouli Nagamallaiah, according to a Dallas County indictment.
The document alleges Cobos-Martinez intentionally caused Nagamallaiah’s death “by stabbing and by cutting and by chopping” him with multiple weapons, including “a knife, an axe, a machete and another sharp object.” The indictment also states the killing occurred while Cobos-Martinez was committing or attempting to commit a robbery of Nagamallaiah.
On Sept. 10, Dallas police officers were called to a stabbing at a motel on Samuell Boulevard around 9:30 a.m. and found Nagamallaiah decapitated. Witnesses reported seeing Cobos-Martinez, who had been living and working at the motel, argue with the victim before grabbing a machete and attacking him. Police arrested him minutes later, still armed and covered in blood, and investigators say he admitted to the killing in a recorded interview. ICE confirmed it assisted Dallas police during the interrogation and said Cobos-Martinez “did the unthinkable and proceeded to kick the head around like a soccer ball.”
Court and police records show Cobos-Martinez has a long history of violence.
In 2017, he was arrested in South Lake Tahoe, California, after allegedly attempting to carjack a woman while naked. The victim told WFAA he later fled before one of his court dates. The next year, he was arrested in Harris County on a charge of indecency with a child, which was later dismissed for insufficient evidence. Months later, he was charged with aggravated assault after being accused of breaking a jailer’s jaw.
In 2023, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and received a one-year sentence, though records show he received credit for more than 1,700 days served, indicating he had been jailed for years awaiting trial. Within days of that plea, he was extradited to California, where a jury acquitted him of carjacking but convicted him of false imprisonment. He was placed on probation, but prosecutors say he absconded soon after.
The victim in the 2017 California case told WFAA back in September that she believes Nagamallaiah’s death could have been prevented had her case been handled differently.
Cobos-Martinez remains in the Dallas County Jail on a capital murder charge and an immigration detainer. His next court hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 20.