After a fight at work, an Indian guy from Karnataka murdered at a motel in Dallas.

After a fight over a defective washing machine, a coworker in East Dallas, Texas, brutally murdered a 50-year-old Indian man from Karnataka on Wednesday in front of his wife and teenage son. Chandra Nagamallaiah had been running the Downtown Suites motel on Samuell Boulevard for the previous two to three years when the murder took place on the morning of September 10.

The dispute started when he urged his 37-year-old employee, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, not to use a malfunctioning washing machine, according to the Dallas police. As the dispute swiftly got out of hand, Cobos-Martinez is accused of repeatedly stabbing Nagamallaiah before pursuing him to the front desk of the motel.

Earlier this year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News that he was freed on January 13 even though a removal order said that there was “no significant likelihood for removal in the foreseeable future.”

The Indian High Commission in Houston condoled the tragic death of Nagamallaiah. “We are in touch with the family and offering all possible assistance. The accused is in the custody of the Dallas Police. We are following up on the matter closely,” the embassy said in a statement on X.

The murder has been called “unthinkable” by ICE. Citing factors such the scarcity of removal aircraft to Cuba, the agency stated that Cobos-Martinez was released from ICE custody earlier in 2025 under an order of supervision. ICE added that the suspect shouldn’t have been allowed to go free in retrospect. The Cuban national is presently being held at Dallas County Jail after being charged with capital murder. To obtain more information, detectives have carried out a search order at the motel.

Colleagues and community members recalled Nagamallaiah, a Karnataka native, as a dedicated family man. In addition to expressing “deep condolences,” the Indian Consulate General in Houston acknowledged that it is actively watching the situation and offering support to the family of the deceased.

The murder stunned the Indian diaspora and provoked online indignation, with many X users raising worries about anti-Asian violence and the safety of immigrant labor and questioning why it wasn’t covered by the mainstream media. A GoFundMe campaign has also been launched to support Nagamallaiah’s family.