Dallas, Sep 13: Two days after the gruesome killing of Indian national Chandra Nagamallaiah, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun removal proceedings against the accused, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, an undocumented immigrant from Cuba.
Nagamallaiah, 41, was brutally attacked and decapitated at a Dallas motel on Wednesday. Police arrested Martinez, 37, the same day and charged him with capital murder. According to investigators, Martinez allegedly used a machete to behead the victim in front of his wife and child, before discarding the severed head in a dumpster.
The DHS described Martinez as a “criminal illegal alien” with a history of serious offenses, including child sex abuse, carjacking, and grand theft auto. “This gruesome, savage slaying was completely preventable if this criminal had not been released into our country by the Biden administration,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughli said, blaming lax immigration enforcement.
ICE confirmed that Martinez had previously been held at the Bluebonnet Detention Centre in Dallas but was released under an Order of Supervision in January 2025 after Cuba refused to repatriate him.
Eyewitnesses told police that the violence erupted after Nagamallaiah asked Martinez not to use a broken washing machine at the motel. A heated argument ensued, reportedly escalating because of a language barrier, before Martinez launched the fatal attack.
A disturbing video circulating on social media shows Martinez chasing and attacking Nagamallaiah with a machete.
US lawmakers have condemned the crime. California Democrat Ro Khanna called it “horrific,” adding, “The murderer had multiple prior arrests for violent theft and child endangerment and was undocumented. He should not have been free on American streets.”
The accused remains in custody at Dallas County Jail, with ICE detainers lodged for deportation proceedings once criminal trial processes conclude.