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Jury to decide if Miami-Dade man who murdered wife, 2 girls will get death penalty

nbcmiami.com · 10h · first reportShare

The fate of a South Florida man who confessed to suffocating and killing his wife and her two young daughters nearly 14 years ago will soon be in the hands of a jury. On Monday, opening statements begin in the punishment phase of the case, now that attorneys have already selected the group of 12 Miami-Dade jurors who will either recommend to send 42-year-old Alberto Sierra to death row or prison for the rest of his life. Sierra pleaded guilty in August to three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of abusing a human body and one count of armed burglary. The charges stem from the killing of Gladys Machado and her 4- and 6-year-old daughters, who were found slain in a northwest Miami-Dade home on Nov. 13, 2012. Gladys Machado and her daughters Brutal killing and sex assault Authorities said days earlier, Sierra, Machado and the girls were at the Mall of the Americas when the couple got into an argument and he pulled out a knife then drove them to the home