Downtown Chapel Hill restaurant owner charged with attempted murder of wife
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- CholaNad owner initially charged with domestic violence-related misdemeanors on April 4.
- Chatham County Sheriff’s Office added attempted first degree murder charge on April 8.
- Wife accused him of having a history of abuse against her and the couple’s kids.
The owner of a popular downtown Chapel Hill restaurant is accused of attempting to murder his wife, court records show.
Mathivanan Pothiyappan, 49, was arrested by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on April 4 on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence, assault on a female and communicating threats, court records show. Pothiyappan’s arrest was first reported by Chapelboro.com.
Pothiyappan was accused of hitting his wife of 23 years in the face with a black bag full of medicine and stating he would take a knife and kill her, according to court records.
Chatham County District Court Judge Sherri Murrell set a $5,000 bail for Pothiyappan, records show. Murrell ordered him to stay away from his wife and abstain from alcohol. He posted bond on April 7.
Pothiyappan was charged with attempted first-degree murder on April 8 in addition to the misdemeanor charges, court records show. A warrant for his arrest named his wife as the victim. The News & Observer generally does not name victims of domestic violence.
Pothiyappan was originally held without bail, but Murrell set bail at $100,000 on April 9, court records show. He posted bond on April 10.
Located on West Franklin Street, CholaNad is an Indian restaurant with a satellite location inside UNC-Chapel Hill’s Lenoir Dining Hall. The restaurant has won four awards from The N&O for best Indian food, according to its website.
Wife accused Pothiyappan of having a history of abuse
In a voluntary statement to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Pothiyappan’s wife wrote that he has always been verbally and physically abusive to her and their children and she has gone to the emergency room before — Pothiyappan allegedly burned her and hit her with dumbbells previously.
Pothiyappan and his wife had an argument April 4, according to a domestic violence incident report. It turned violent when Pothiyappan screamed, threw objects at his wife and banged an object against the side of her head, according to his wife’s voluntary statement.
Pothiyappan then went to the kitchen, got a knife and threatened to kill his wife, according to his wife’s statement. She ran out the front door to a lake while Pothiyappan allegedly chased her in his car.
The couple’s daughter corroborated her mother’s allegations in a separate voluntary statement. The daughter wrote that she ran downstairs when she heard Pothiyappan threaten to kill her mother and saw Pothiyappan chase her out the front door.
The daughter ran upstairs, called 911 and then ran outside, she wrote.
Pothiyappan’s next court hearing is Wednesday.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 3:19 PM.
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