Family members of a Miami man facing the death penalty for killing his wife and her two young daughters testified Thursday about his childhood. His mother, Mercedes Pedraza, and his older brother, Dayron Porrata, described Alberto Sierra as a happy, normal child before a car hit him at age 12.
Sierra wept for the first time during the trial when he saw his loved ones. Pedraza broke down on the stand while describing her love for her son and how hard it was for him to adjust after the family moved to the United States. Speaking through a translator, she said he did not want to be in the country.
Porrata told jurors the family lived in Cuba before settling in Hialeah. He described his brother as outgoing and very hyper. Jurors were shown photos of a smiling young Sierra. Porrata said his brother changed after the 1996 crash, and he described his face as badly swollen and his head as deformed.
The defense contends the crash caused a traumatic head injury that affected Sierra’s later decisions and behavior. On cross-examination, a prosecutor questioned Porrata about the injury and the photos, asking whether his brother’s head appeared bandaged in them. Porrata said it did not in the two photos shown.
Porrata said he had heard about Sierra’s wife, Gladys Machado, and her three children but had never met them. Trial proceedings are scheduled to resume Monday.
