DALLAS - Dallas County will not seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing his boss at a Dallas motel.

Yordanis Cabos-Martinez, 37, is from Cuba. Police say he got into a fight with his boss on Sept. 10. His boss was the motel manager. The manager died. His family watched it happen.

This case shows how Texas courts handle brutal crimes. It shows this even when the accused is not a U.S. citizen. It also shows how much a death case can cost. Taxpayers pay the bill. They pay it even when the state does not seek death in the end.

Prosecutor Julie Johnson spoke to the judge. She said her office will not treat this as a death case for now.

"Based on our investigation and my conversations, the state of Texas is not seeking the death penalty. But we reserve the right to change our mind should anything come up," she said.

Defense lawyer Lalon "Clipper" Peale said he needs a final answer soon. He said the case could still turn into a death case. If it does, his team must do a lot of work. They must travel to Cuba. That is where Cabos-Martinez grew up. They must also go to California. He lived there before he moved to Texas.

"Obviously, he's not from the United States. Mitigation is going to need to be done. That mitigation will entail having to make trips either by council or mitigation experts to Cuba and some other destinations as well. So there's going to be some extensive mitigation that needs to be done in this case," Peale said.

Mitigation work means digging into a person's past. Lawyers look for facts. Those facts could make a jury show mercy. Peale said his team may also ask for a mental health exam. All of this work costs Dallas County taxpayers money.

Johnson told the judge she will give a final answer by Jan. 8. Both sides will check in with the judge in December. No trial date has been set yet.

Court papers lay out what happened that morning. Cabos-Martinez was cleaning a room with a co-worker. This was at the Downtown Suites motel. The motel sits near Interstate 30. It is close to the Tenison Golf Course.

The motel manager walked up. He told workers not to use a broken washing machine. Court papers say Cabos-Martinez got mad. He said the manager spoke to his co-worker to translate. He wanted the manager to talk to him straight.

Cabos-Martinez then allegedly left the room. He went to get a machete. He came back and began to attack the manager. The manager ran toward the front office. He screamed for help. Cabos-Martinez chased him.

The manager's wife and son ran out to help him. Police say Cabos-Martinez pushed them away. He then went through the manager's pockets. He took his phone. He took his key card too.

Court papers say Cabos-Martinez cut the manager. He cut him until his head came off his body. He kicked the head twice across the parking lot. Then he picked it up. He carried it to a dumpster and left it there.

Dallas Fire-Rescue crews saw Cabos-Martinez leave the dumpster area. He was covered in blood. He still held the machete. Crews followed him down the road. They followed him until police got there. Police took him into custody.

Cabos-Martinez now sits in the Dallas County jail. He faces a capital murder charge. That charge can mean life in prison with no parole. It can also mean death, if the state changes its mind.

He also has an immigration hold. He is a Cuban citizen. He has a violent past too. He has a conviction in California. He also has arrests in Florida and in Houston.

Back in 2017, Cabos-Martinez carjacked a woman in South Lake Tahoe. He was naked when he did it. A jury found him guilty in 2023. He got a year and a half in prison for it.

Immigration agents let him go from custody on Jan. 13 this year. This happened even though he had a removal order. That order tells someone to leave the country. ICE told Fox News there was "no significant likelihood for removal in the foreseeable future."

At the time of the killing, Cabos-Martinez had one more problem. He had an active warrant out of California. It was for breaking his probation rules there.