The jury voted unanimously to recommend death for the killing of 6-year-old Julia. For Machado’s murder, all but one juror voted for death; for the killing of 3-year-old Daniela, eight jurors did so. Florida law requires at least eight of the 12 jurors to recommend death for a death sentence to be considered.

Sierra admitted to suffocating Machado and the girls with a grocery bag. Prosecutors said the family had planned to go shopping in November 2012, but the outing turned deadly amid the couple’s separation. They said Sierra accused Machado of cheating, took her and the children from a mall to an apartment, and killed them. Prosecutors also said Machado was bound and tortured for hours and that Sierra sexually assaulted two of the victims.

Machado’s son, Michael Padrino, survived because he had stayed with his great-grandmother. Now 19, he told jurors about the family memories and milestones lost in the killings, including birthdays and holidays they would never share.

At closing arguments Monday, State Attorney Abbe Rifkin urged jurors to recommend death, calling it the just outcome. Defense attorney Khurrum Wahid asked them to choose life, emphasizing Sierra’s humanity and pointing to a brain injury he suffered as a child after being struck by a car.

The defense is scheduled to make its final plea for a life sentence at a Spencer hearing on Nov. 2. Florida changed its death-penalty jury threshold after the Parkland school shooting case, in which a 9-3 recommendation resulted in a life sentence for the shooter. The judge will ultimately determine Sierra’s sentence.