First responders recount finding mother, 2 daughters dead in closet at Alberto Sierra death penalty trial

Jurors deciding whether Alberto Sierra should be sentenced to death heard graphic testimony Wednesday from first responders who described finding his wife and two young stepdaughters dead inside a closet at their west Miami-Dade home nearly 14 years ago.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Richard Ramos testified that crews were initially dispatched for a report of a man down. When they arrived, a woman outside the home told them they would find something disturbing inside.

Ramos said there was an odor of decomposition in the home and that crews discovered Gladys Machado and her daughters, 6-year-old Julia Padron and 2-year-old Daniela Padron, inside a closet with no signs of life.

Ramos told jurors he checked the victims for signs of death, including their body temperature and rigidity.

"I kind of tried to bend at the wrist a little bit to see if there was rigidity. Also, the temperature of the body," Ramos testified.

When asked what those checks indicated, Ramos responded, "There's obvious signs of death."

He said he performed the same checks on the two children.

Jurors also heard Wednesday from a Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputy who worked the crime scene and walked them through photographs taken inside the home after the bodies were discovered.

The testimony came on the second day of the penalty phase for Sierra, 42, who pleaded guilty in August to three counts of first-degree murder and other charges in the November 2012 killings.

The jury will recommend whether Sierra should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors detail killings

Prosecutors began presenting their case Tuesday, describing for jurors how Sierra killed Machado and her two daughters after the family went to the Mall of the Americas in west Miami-Dade.

Investigators said Sierra and Machado got into an argument during the outing and Sierra stabbed Machado before driving her and the girls to their home near Northwest 4th Street and 73rd Avenue.

Authorities said Sierra forced the family inside and locked the girls in a bedroom. He then took Machado into the master bedroom, where investigators said he suffocated her with a plastic bag. Sierra then suffocated both girls, investigators said.

Authorities also accused Sierra of sexually assaulting Machado and one of her daughters after their deaths.

The three bodies were discovered days later after a neighbor noticed a foul odor coming from the home. Machado had another child, a 6-year-old boy, who was staying with his grandmother at the time and was not harmed.

Sierra initially spoke with investigators and was released, but police later said he confessed to the killings during questioning.

Investigators collected DNA from one of the girls that matched Sierra and recovered blood-stained clothing and bedding, used latex gloves and other evidence, according to search warrant records previously obtained by CBS News Miami. Investigators also found apparent blood stains inside Machado's vehicle, which police said Sierra used to drive the victims from the mall to their home.

Sierra pleaded guilty nearly 14 years later

Sierra initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea on Aug. 7, admitting responsibility nearly 14 years after the killings.

"It's been 14 years, so," Sierra told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez when she asked whether he was ready to enter the plea.

When asked for his plea, Sierra responded, "I'm guilty."

He pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of abuse of a dead human body and one count of armed burglary.

Because Sierra has already admitted guilt, jurors are not being asked to decide whether he committed the crimes. Instead, they are hearing evidence to determine what punishment to recommend.

Sierra's attorneys have told jurors they expect experts to testify about his medical history, including an alleged traumatic brain injury from a childhood car crash that they say affected his personality and cognitive functioning.

Testimony in the penalty phase is expected to continue.