A Florida jury has recommended the death penalty for a man who suffocated his estranged wife and her two young daughters with a plastic grocery bag.
Jurors issued the recommendation Tuesday for 42-year-old Alberto Sierra, following a month of disturbing testimony about the triple murder he committed in November 2012.
Sierra pleaded guilty in August to killing his estranged wife, Gladys Machado, and her daughters, six-year-old Julia Padrino and three-year-old Daniela Padrino. The three victims were found dead inside a Miami-Dade apartment on November 13, 2012.
Earlier that day, Sierra, Machado and the girls had been at a mall when he pulled a knife on them and forced them to return to the apartment. The jury heard that he argued with Machado during the drive.
Prosecutors said the couple were going through a bitter separation at the time.
State Attorney Abbe Rifkin told jurors that Sierra confined his 29-year-old wife in a room, where he restrained and tortured her for hours as her daughters watched.
He eventually suffocated all three victims with a plastic bag, prosecutors said. Sierra also sexually assaulted Gladys and Julia.
Sierra admitted that he killed the three victims by suffocation on November 10. A neighbor later discovered their bodies in a closet after detecting a foul smell coming from the apartment, CBS News reported in 2012.
Alberto Sierra killed his estranged wife, Gladys Machado, and her two daughters, six-year-old Julia Padrino and three-year-old Daniela Padrino, pictured together, after suffocating them with a plastic bag on November 10, 2012.
Jurors recommended a death sentence Tuesday, months after Sierra pleaded guilty to the killings in August.
Eleven of the 12 jurors recommended that Sierra receive the death penalty for Machado’s murder.
All 12 jurors supported execution for Julia’s killing, while eight recommended the death penalty for Daniela’s murder.
Prosecutors said Sierra also sexually assaulted Gladys and Julia.
Florida law requires at least eight of the 12 jurors to recommend a death sentence.
Sierra’s Spencer hearing, a post-trial proceeding held in Florida capital cases, is scheduled for November 2.
At the hearing, defense attorneys can make a final appeal for Sierra to receive life in prison rather than be sentenced to death. The judge will make the ultimate decision on his punishment.
After the jury recommended the death penalty, several relatives of the victims delivered emotional impact statements.
Michael Padrino, Julia and Daniela’s biological father, became visibly emotional as he took the witness stand.
“I’m writing because my daughters no longer have a voice in this world. Their lives, their childhood, their innocence, their chance to grow, and every year they were supposed to live, were taken from them,” Michael said, wiping away tears.
State Attorney Abbe Rifkin told jurors that Sierra confined his 29-year-old wife in a room, restrained and tortured her for hours, while her daughters watched.
All of the 12 jurors, except for one, recommended that Sierra be put to death for Machdo’s murder. Every juror agreed that he be executed for killing Julia, and eight voted for him to face the death penalty for Daniela’s murder
‘For almost 14 years, I have carried a pain that no parent should ever have to live with.
‘I picture them in my mind constantly, I recreate memories and images of who they would be today.
‘My daughters were not just names in a case. They were full of laughter, fun, and they deserved to live a long life,’ he continued.
After Michael, his son Michael Padrino Jr shared his statement.
He was just five years old when his mother and sisters were taken from him. Michael Jr declined to go to the mall that day and stayed home with his grandmother instead.
As he spoke about memories he had of the three of them, he broke down. His hands also trembled as he read from the paper in front of him.
He then looked up at Sierra and said: ‘And you, you took them. You know you did!’
Sierra stared blankly back at Michael Jr, now 19, as he began to hyperventilate on the stand.
Michael Padrino, Julia and Daniela’s biological father, immediately got choked up on the stand during his victim impact statement
Michael Padrino Jr also shared a tearful statement. He was just five years old when his mother and sisters were taken from him. Michael Jr declined to go to the mall that day and stayed home with his grandmother instead
Prosecutors ran up to console him as one of them told him: ‘It’s not worth it,’ and another asked that the jury be sent out.
The tense moment ended with Michael Jr looking right at Sierra as he was escorted out of the courtroom.
Before deciding his suggested punishment, State Attorney Abbe Rifkin told jurors that a death sentence was the only appropriate option for Sierra.
‘It might be hard. But it’s right. It’s just. And it’s time,’ she told the jurors.
Meanwhile, Sierra’s lawyers asked that the jury suggest life in prison for their client because he suffered a brain injury after he was hit by a car as a child.
‘We are here to remind you he is a human being,’ his attorney, Khurrum Wahid, said.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said: ‘There is no statement at this time.’
Our News Outlet also contacted Wahid for comment.
