On the evening of September 12, two days after Chandra Mouli ‘Bob’ Nagamalliah, 50, a motel manager in Dallas, Texas, was killed in a brutal murder by a worker at the motel, Nagamalliah’s 80-year-old mother Veerabadramma returned a call she had received from a long-time neighbour in east Bengaluru.
The neighbour had been calling Veerabadramma since learning of her son’s killing in Dallas on September 10, but there had been no response, or the phone was switched off. When she finally returned a call on Friday night, she was heartbroken, said the neighbour, B S Venkatesh, 51, a businessman.
“She was really shocked. She was crying. She was saying that he was the one who had to conduct her last rites, and now she has to conduct his last rites. She was saying that this situation must not befall any mother,” said Venkatesh about Nagamalliah’s mother.
Nagamalliah, who has been described as a jovial, genial, business-oriented and family person by friends and co-workers, was decapitated by a Cuban immigrant with a criminal record whose deportation after being convicted of a crime was not accepted by Cuba.
The Cuban national, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was employed as cleaning staff at the Downtown Suites, a motel on Samuell Boulevard in east Dallas, where Nagamalliah was the manager.
Veerbadramma traveled to Dallas for the last rites of Nagamalliah, which were scheduled for Saturday afternoon, local time in Dallas. “She had switched off her phone and was not answering calls because too many people were calling,” said Venkatesh, the family’s neighbour at a property they own in east Bengaluru.
The family of Venkatesh has known the family of Nagamalliah for over 40 years on account of being next-door neighbours in the Thippasandra area in east Bengaluru, a residential area inhabited by families that moved to Bengaluru from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in the 1960s and 1970s for work and business.
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“Chandra Mouli was younger to me and we went to different schools but we were good friends. He was the youngest of four children. He was the pet of the family as the youngest son. It was a Naidu family hailing originally from AP but all the children were brought up in Bengaluru. His father worked as a contractor for the PSU HAL,” the neighbour recalled.
“Chandra Mouli was a jolly person who never showed anger during the time that we knew him. He cannot shout at anyone. When we teased or made fun of him during his youth, he would just laugh it away. He would always have a smile in any situation,” Venkatesh said.
“He was in the catering business in Bengaluru. He opened a small hotel in Jeevan Bhima Nagar in east Bengaluru. The business was not too good. He got married to a girl who lives in RT Nagar, and then he shifted his business to RT Nagar. In the meantime, they had given up their building in Thippasandra – which they still own – for a PG facility. I look after the PG facility for the family as it is located right next door,” the neighbour told The Indian Express.
The family was well off in Bengaluru and owned multiple properties and earned well from rental income, but the family was keen to move to the US after an elder sister migrated and started a hotel business in the US over two decades ago, the neighbour said.
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“His elder sister went to the US after she got married. She took all her siblings to the US as well. He had two elder brothers, and one of them died of an illness when he was young. The eldest brother was a contractor with HAL, and his wife was employed with HAL. She resigned from her job as well, and they also settled in the US,” Venkatesh said.
Nagamalliah is reported to have moved to the US around 2018. The motel in the US where he worked as a manager could be owned by a family member, and that is why he was working as a manager, and his family (wife and son) were also at the workplace on the fateful day of the murder, the neighbour said.
“It is mostly their mother who is in India these days. She keeps going to the US. Two months ago, she had come to see their property next door and visited us. I called her yesterday, and then she said she was switching off her phone after speaking to me,” Venkatesh said.
The surviving elder brother of Nagamalliah, who lives in the US, did not respond to calls and messages.
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Following the gruesome murder of Nagamalliah, friends in the US have started an online fundraiser for his family – wife Nisha and son Gaurav, 18.
“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,” said a fundraiser message posted online at Gofundme by Tanmay Patel, a Texas-based young leader of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA).
“He leaves behind his wife, Nisha, and his 18-year-old son, Gaurav, who just graduated high school and is preparing to begin college this fall. Gaurav dreams of studying Hospitality Management, inspired by his father’s hard work and generosity,” the message said.
The fundraiser for the family of Nagamalliah was meant to cover funeral and memorial expenses, help his wife and son with immediate living and household costs and to support “Gaurav’s college education and future”.
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“I felt compelled to set up this GoFundMe to help ease their financial burden during this heartbreaking time and to ensure Gaurav has the support he needs as he begins his college journey. All funds raised will go directly to Nisha and Gaurav to cover funeral expenses, immediate living costs, and Gaurav’s education,” Patel said online.
The AAHOA member did not respond to an email message sent to his email address.
There were tributes paid by other NRIs on social media as well. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Chandra Mouli Naga Mallaiyah, originally from Dharmavaram, and living in Bangalore. He had been working as a motel manager in Dallas and was planning to travel to India next month to visit family,” a Facebook message said.
“Mouli Anna was remembered as a hardworking, kindhearted person who worked tirelessly for his family. May his soul rest in peace, and may his loved ones find strength during this unimaginable time,” said a message posted by NRIsadda.