Medical examiner graphically testifies about injuries to wife, 2 daughters in Miami man's death penalty trial

The final witness of the first week in the death penalty trial of a Miami man who killed his wife and her two young daughters took the stand Friday, offering graphic testimony about the victims' injuries and the condition of their bodies.

Dr. Emma Lew, a former Miami-Dade medical examiner who performed all three autopsies, testified about the injuries Alberto Sierra inflicted on Gladys Machado and her two daughters, Julia and Daniella.

According to Lew, the bodies of Machado and her daughters were beginning to mummify by the time they were discovered.

"Is this the way you saw the three victims in the closet when you entered?" the state prosecutor asked.

"Yes, it is," Lew responded.

The children's father attended the trial for the first time Friday. He listened in court as Lew testified about insect activity on the victims' faces and bodies and explained that, based on decomposition, the victims had been dead for more than a day.

"Yes, the fingertips were starting to mummify. In other words, the fingers' soft tissue was starting to dry up," Lew testified when asked about decomposition on the victims' hands.

During proceedings, Lew and the prosecutor brought out a mannequin similar in size to 3-year-old Daniella to demonstrate how the child was killed with a plastic grocery bag.

Sierra, who pleaded guilty, sat with his head down as they detailed injuries to the back of the girl's neck.

"The abrasions on the left side on the back of her neck were like in two stripes, two parallel stripes," Lew said.

Sierra lifted his head as Lew testified about apparent cuts all over Machado's body, noting that some appeared to be defensive wounds.

"I know there were multiple sharp force injuries as well as scrapes or abrasions," Lew said. She added that Machado did not have much blood and appeared to have been cleaned.

Court is scheduled to resume Monday.