Lead detective says Miami man showed no emotion about stepdaughters in death penalty trial

Testimony continued Thursday in the death penalty trial of a 42-year-old Miami man accused of killing his wife and her two daughters, with the lead homicide detective taking the stand as the day's sole witness.

Detective Juan Chaidez of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office testified about his initial interview with Alberto Sierra after the bodies of Sierra's estranged wife, Gladys Machado, and his stepdaughters, Daniella and Julia, were discovered at their former home.

When asked by prosecutors if Sierra showed emotion while discussing his dead stepchildren during the interview, Chaidez responded, "Not at all".

Chaidez testified that investigators initially issued a flyer seeking to speak with Sierra regarding his estranged wife before Sierra eventually came in to speak with detectives. During that interview, Sierra acknowledged that Machado was seeing other men, telling the detective that "he forgave her and he understood how she felt" about why she would do that.

According to Chaidez, Sierra said he saw his wife and stepdaughters the day before they went missing because Daniella's birthday was coming up in a couple of days. Sierra told detectives he continued to care for and babysit the girls up until the time of their deaths.

Jurors were shown photographs of Sierra from the day he spoke with precinct detectives, as well as the clothing the girls were wearing when they were found. Investigators collected a DNA sample from Sierra before releasing him, later securing phone and toll records.

The trial is scheduled to resume Friday, when the medical examiner who performed the victims' autopsies is expected to take the stand.