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Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah’s friends and neighbours in Bengaluru are still reeling from the shock of what happened to their childhood cricket companion
The house in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar where Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah grew up now stands as another PG accommodation run by his family. (Image: News18)
Friends of Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah, an Indian-origin motel manager who was brutally killed by his Cuban co-worker in the United States, gather in front of his house in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar where he spent his formative years. They are still reeling from the shock of what happened to their childhood cricket companion.
“Each time I look at his face, all I can remember is his laughter. He had that laugh that was full of life. Even when we friends would get into an argument or a fight, he was the first to dissipate the situation and ask us to keep calm. It’s horrible. We still cannot comprehend how this could have happened to him,” said HB Venkatesh, who is Chandra Mouli’s childhood friend and next-door neighbour.
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Venkatesh rushed to Chandra Mouli’s house to meet his mother when he saw the news flashing on TV channels.
“She was a total wreck. I called her and she told me at her age how can anybody bear the loss of one’s own child. She told me that she had brought him up with so much love and care and that no mother should outlive their children. Totally heartbroken and while speaking sounded almost lifeless,” he said.
Chandra Mouli left Thippasandra in Indiranagar as soon as he got married 18 years ago, but stayed in touch with his friends from school and college.
“He used to run a hotel business called Mouli’s Catering and also ran a paying guest accommodation later. He was soft-spoken, one who would greet everybody with a smile. He was silent, popular amongst his friends,” said Abhilash Reddy, a friend and former corporator of the area.
The house that Chandra Mouli grew up in now stands as another PG accommodation run by his family, but his friends said the walls and rooms still remind them of the good times they had as youngsters. Praveen, another childhood friend, said all he can think of is the intense gully cricket they played near their home.
“Why would anyone be so brutal with him? His behaviour was the soft, sober type. It’s not just shocking. We are yet to come to terms with the fact that he is no more,” Praveen said.
Reddy sought the intervention of the US and Indian governments to bring justice to the Chandra Mouli’s family.
“They should ensure that the family gets justice for the brutal, inhuman way that man attacked his friend,” he said.
Just days after the shocking murder of Chandra Mouli, who was allegedly beheaded in front of his wife and son at a motel in Dallas, Texas, US President Donald Trump promised stricter action on illegal immigrant offenders. The 50-year-old was attacked by a Cuban national, who has a violent criminal history and was released from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year after Cuba refused to accept his deportation due to his criminal record.
Chandra Mouli spent his childhood at his Indiranagar home and later pursued higher education at the National College in Basavanagudi. Those close to him said he always wanted to be in business, and hospitality was his forte.
He left India for Texas after his brother, who ran a successful business chain in Texas, asked him to join them with his family. Before leaving for the US, he briefly stayed in RT Nagar between 2012 and 2018.
Over there, too, neighbours remember him with much affection. It was when the police came knocking at the doors of one of them as Chandra Mouli had listed this address while applying for a passport, that they realised the incident had happened “to their very own Mouli”.
“He was our neighbour for close to seven to eight years. My son and his son would play cricket in these lanes every single day. The family was cordial, they would visit for festivals. When they left for the US, they kept in touch for a few years but soon lost touch as they got busy with their lives,” said a neighbour, who did not wish to be named.
The neighbour said the family lived on the ground floor of their two-storey residence with Nisha and their son Gaurav. “Gaurav and my son were a year apart in age. We connected because of our children were friends,” said the neighbour, adding that Texas had been on Chandra Mouli’s mind as his elder sister and brother-in-law were already settled in the hospitality sector there and had encouraged him to join them.
They convinced him that moving to the US could help expand their business as well. “He was a very nice man and was into multiple businesses. It may have been the effect of Covid that, like many others, his business faced a tough time and he took a call to go to the US. If his business was stable, we don’t think he would have moved out to the US,” said the neighbour.
In 2018, Chandra Mouli made the decision to move to the US. According to those who know him, he initially lived in San Antonio from 2018 to 2021 before relocating to Dallas.
Having lost his father earlier, he had been staying with his elderly mother before he left for America. “We can’t imagine somebody would think of killing him, let alone know how it happened,” said the neighbour.
The attack took place on September 10 at the Downtown Suites motel in Dallas, where both Chandra Mouli and Yordanis Cobos-Martinez worked. The police said the accused was cleaning a room with a female colleague as the incident unfolded.
Cobos-Martinez became upset when Chandra Mouli did not directly address him to not use a broken washing machine. Surveillance video shows him leaving the motel room, pulling out a machete and attacking the victim, who ran, and the attack continued outside – in front of the victim’s wife and son – both of whom attempted to intervene.
After he beheaded the victim, he allegedly placed the head in a dumpster. Graphic video clips widely shared online capture Chandra Mouli screaming and running through the motel parking lot as he is chased down by Cobos-Martinez, who is seen striking him repeatedly with the weapon.
Trump, who vowed tough action on the matter, called Chandra Mouli a “well-respected person in Dallas”. “This criminal, who we have in custody, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He will be charged with murder in the first degree,” he said.
He said the accused will face the harshest legal consequences and that his administration was committed to “making America safe again”.
“I am aware of the terrible reports regarding the murder of Chandra Nagamallaiah, a well-respected person in Dallas, Texas, who was brutally beheaded, in front of his wife and son, by an ILLEGAL ALIEN from Cuba who should have never been in our Country. This individual was previously arrested for terrible crimes, including child sex abuse, grand theft auto, and false imprisonment, but was released back into our Homeland under incompetent Joe Biden because Cuba did not want such an evil person in their Country. Rest assured, the time for being soft on these Illegal Immigrant Criminals is OVER under my watch! Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Border Czar Tom Homan, and many others in my Administration are doing an incredible job in MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. This criminal, who we have in custody, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. He will be charged with murder in the first degree!” he said on social media.
About the Author
Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t…Read More
Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t… Read More
September 16, 2025, 07:00 IST
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