50-year-old Chandra Mouli Nagamalliah’s brutal murder in Texas on Friday made jaws drop around the world. But roughly 9,000 km away in Bangalore, the trauma of losing her son had left 80-year-old Veerabadramma numb.
Veerabadramma’s neighbour BS Venkatesh managed to speak to her that night.
“She was really shocked. She was crying and said that he is the one who has to conduct her last rites and now I have to conduct his last rites. This situation must not befall any mother, she was saying,” said Venkatesh, recalling his conversation with Veerabadramma.
People known to Nagamalliah – who was decapitated by a Cuban immigrant with a criminal record – describe him as jovial, business-oriented and a family man.
The beheading also triggered several social media reactions. One of them was from Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy, who took to X to say, “An innocent Dallas hotel manager was brutally beheaded in front of his wife & son, by an illegal migrant who had a final order of removal & such a bad criminal history that Cuba refused to accept him. He was released on Jan 13, right before Biden left office. This is horrific. It’s time to restore the rule of law.”
The Cuban national – 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez – was one of the cleaning staff members at the Downtown Suites, a motel managed by Nagamalliah in east Dallas.
“Nagamalliah was younger to me but we were good friends. He was the youngest of four children. He belonged to a Naidu family hailing originally from Andhra Pradesh but all children were brought up in Bengaluru. His father worked as a contractor for HAL. He was a jolly person who was never angry. When we teased or made fun of him, he would just laugh it away,” Venkatesh said.
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Nagamalliah was in the catering business in Bengaluru and had opened a small hotel in Jeevan Bhima Nagar in the city’s eastern region. “The business was not too good. He got married to a girl from RT Nagar. They had given up their building in Thippasandra for a PG facility. I monitor the PG facility for the family as it is located next door,” Venkatesh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Venkatesh recalled that the family was well off and owned several properties. They were keen to move to the US after Nagamalliah’s sister had set up a hotel business there over two decades ago.
According to Venkatesh, Nagamalliah moved to the US in 2018 and the motel where he worked was, in all likelihood, owned by a family member. “It is mostly their mother who is in India these days. She keeps going to the US,” he said.
After Nagamalliah’s death, his friends started an online fundraiser for his family. He is survived by his wife Nisha and 18-year-old son Gaurav.
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A fundraiser message on Gofundme by Texas-based Tanmay Patel read, “Yesterday, our dear friend Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah tragically lost his life in a horrific act of violence at Downtown Suites in Dallas. Known as Bob to his friends and family, he was a loving husband, devoted father, and kind soul who touched the lives of everyone who knew him. Gaurav dreams of studying Hospitality Management, inspired by his father’s hard work and generosity.”
