Dallas (Texas): A 50-year-old Indian-origin man was brutally killed in front of his wife and son at a Dallas motel, police officials said.

The victim, Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, originally from Karnataka, was attacked on Wednesday morning at the Downtown Suites motel in Dallas by his co-worker, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37. Cobos-Martinez, who has a criminal record, has been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is being held without bond and could face life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty if convicted.

According to the Dallas Police Department, the dispute arose when Nagamallaiah asked another person to translate his instructions regarding a broken washing machine, instead of addressing Cobos-Martinez directly. Surveillance footage shows Cobos-Martinez retrieving a machete and launching the attack.

Nagamallaiah fled toward the motel office where his wife and 18-year-old son were present, but the suspect pursued him and carried out the assault despite their attempts to intervene.

Friends and family remembered Nagamallaiah as a devoted husband and father. “This unimaginable tragedy was not only sudden but deeply traumatic,” they said. “Bob's life was taken in a brutal attack that occurred in front of his wife and son, who bravely tried to protect him. The shocking nature of this event has shaken our community.”