Local
Miami jury hears final arguments in Alberto Sierra capital case
Prosecutors and defense attorneys delivered closing arguments Monday in the penalty phase of Alberto Sierra’s case for killing his estranged wife and her two daughters in 2012. Sierra has pleaded guilty; jurors are now weighing whether he should receive the death penalty.
Closing arguments began Monday in Miami in the death-penalty case against Alberto Sierra, who admitted killing his estranged wife and her two young daughters in 2012. The jury is considering the punishment after Sierra pleaded guilty to the killings.
Sierra, 42, told authorities he suffocated Gladys Machado, 29, and her daughters, Julia Padrino, 6, and Daniela Padrino, 3, with plastic bags. During Monday’s arguments, jurors saw photographs of the victims. Prosecutors also used a small mannequin, approximately Daniela’s size, as they argued the killings were deliberate and especially cruel.
“He knew that everyone in that house had to die,” prosecutor Abbe Rifkin told jurors, adding that the children knew Sierra and could have identified him.
The defense has argued that Sierra sustained permanent brain damage after being struck by a car as a child. The arguments mark a decision point in a case stemming from the 2012 killings, more than a decade before the penalty proceedings.