A Cuban national, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, who was residing in the US illegally, has been charged with capital murder for killing an Indian-origin man at a motel in Dallas.

Chandra (or Chandramouli) Nagamallaiah, the 50-year-old Indian-origin motel manager, was beheaded by Cobos-Martinez, his co-worker at the Downtown Suites motel, following an altercation over a broken washing machine.

Eye witnesses say that Nagamallaiah had asked Cobos-Martinez not to use a malfunctioning washing machine, to which the latter took offense and left the room abruptly.

Surveillance footage showed Cobos-Martinez returning with a machete, and attacking Nagamallaiah. Nagamallaiah ran to the motel office, where his wife and 18-year-old son were present. Despite their attempts to save Nagamallaiah, Cobos-Martinez continued to violently assault him, severing his head and kicking it into the parking lot.

Cobos-Martinez was arrested for murder and an immigration detainer placed on him.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement that it had lodged a detainer for the federal arrest and removal of Cobos-Martinez, whom ICE called a “depraved criminal illegal alien from Cuba”.

It is alleged that Cobos-Martinez was earlier in ICE Dallas custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Center but was released on an order of supervision on January 13 “because Cuba would not accept him because of his criminal history”. – editor@nrifocus.com