Evidence shows mother, 2 girls suffered ‘slow death’ as killer suffocated them

Crime admin October 3, 2026 0 Comments

Evidence shows mother, 2 girls suffered ‘slow death’ as killer suffocated them

The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Alberto Sierra’s estranged wife and her two young daughters detailed on Friday their torturous final moments, testifying during Sierra’s death penalty trial.

Dr. Emma Lew, who was formerly with the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office but has since retired, said Gladys Machado, 29, and her daughters Julia Padrino, 6, and Daniela Padrino, 3, died of asphyxia. Machado had also been stabbed with a knife, which contributed to her death, the doctor said on the stand.

Sierra, 42, admitted to suffocating Machado and her daughters with a plastic shopping bag. Lew testified that a person being suffocated would be aware of their impending fate and could take minutes to die. Prosecutor Abbe Rifkin described it as a “slow death.”

Standing before the jury, Rifkin held a cloth doll and placed a yellow Sedano’s Supermarket bag over the doll’s head, tying the bag’s handles behind at its neck. Machado and her daughters had abrasions on their necks, which Lew said is consistent with asphyxiation.

Rifkin asked Lew if placing a shopping bag would cause those injuries, and Lew said it would, if the bag’s handles were tightly knotted or pressure was applied.

READ MORE: Jury in case of killer who suffocated wife, her girls hear about horrific scene

Sierra left Machado, Julia and Daniela stuffed in a closet in the home they all once shared in Miami’s Flagami neighborhood. The bodies were found beside one another on Nov. 13, 2012, three days after they were killed. Lew said she was at the house when investigators were documenting the crime scene, and she performed the autopsy the following day.

“It was a triple death, so I needed to get answers as quickly as possible for law enforcement,” Lew testified.

READ MORE: Trial begins for killer who ‘tortured’ wife, her girls with plastic bag

The fate of Sierra is in the hands of 12 jurors who are tasked with deciding whether Sierra should be condemned to Florida’s Death Row or sentenced to life in prison for the murders. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez is presiding.

Julia and Daniela’s father, Michael Padrino Sr., teared up in the courtroom as Lew testified about the girls’ deaths and pointed out their injuries in autopsy photos. Sierra put his head down as prosecutors displayed the images.

A brutal attack

When Lew walked into the closet, she said, she noticed that Daniela and Julia were clothed but Machado was nude. Julia’s body, she noted, was visibly in a latter stage of decomposition than that of her sister and mother.

Machado, Daniela and Julia, Lew said, all had white foamy fluid coming out of their mouths and noses. While performing their autopsies, Lew said she noticed their lungs were also full of fluid, which is common in cases of asphyxia, she said.

Lew testified that Julia, was almost face down and was lying partly on Daniela. Red fluid had come out of her mouth, and blood had dripped out of her nose, the doctor added.

READ MORE: Bloody clothes shown to jury in case of man who suffocated wife, two girls

The significant discoloration on Julia’s body indicated that she was already dead when she was stuffed into the closet with her mother and sister, the pathologist said. Several injuries on her body, Lew testified, were consistent with Julia reacting when she was being killed, possibly because she was kicking and trying to break free.

Lew recalled how the room, which was full of crime scene investigators, fell silent when she took off Julia’s pants to examine her body. Julia’s underwear was soaked in blood, prompting Lew to examine Julia for sexual assault.

The blood and nature of the injuries to her genitals, which Lew described as being “pulled apart,” indicated the child was alive and likely in significant pain during the rape. Sierra appeared stoic as Lew testified about Julia’s sexual assault.

When Daniela’s body arrived at the morgue, she was wearing a blue headband with a bow and pigtails, Lew said. The stains on Daniela’s clothing were the result of fluids that come out of body cavities after death, the doctor added.

Lew said she located a bruise in Daniela’s mouth, which was consistent with an object being pressed against her face while she was still alive. Several of the organs around her neck had hemorrhaging, which was worse in her spleen, which Lew said could mean weight was applied to her body. Sierra, Rifkin said, straddled Daniela and put his weight on her as he suffocated her with the plastic bag.

When Lew began to examine Machado’s body, the doctor said, she immediately noticed that she had been jabbed and sliced all over — even after she was already dead. The pale color of Machado’s body, she added, indicated that she had lost a significant amount of blood. No blood was found on Machado’s body, which Lew said meant she had been cleaned.

Machado also had abrasions on her lower back, near a tattoo of Julia’s name, that Lew said are consistent with her hands being tied behind her back. Lew said she didn’t find obvious signs that Machado was sexually assaulted but added that it wasn’t unusual for a woman who had given birth to three children.

Machado also had cuts on her hands and defensive wounds on her fingers, the doctor testified. The corners of her mouth were carved, and she had a curved slice on her chin under her lips that Rifkin said looked like a smile. Machado suffered those injuries, Lew said, when she was alive, likely causing her pain.

The defense did not cross-examine Lew on Friday but will do so on Oct. 14 due to scheduling conflicts.

The trial will continue next week as Miami-Dade Det. Juan Chaidez returns to the stand to complete his testimony. Prosecutors plan to play Sierra’s 40-minute statement to Chaidez.