The Asunta Case, a thriller miniseries, is the latest addition to Netflix’s long list of true crime productions. Created by Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, Jon de la Cuesta, and David Orea Arribas, the plot of The Asunta Case is based on the real-life story of the murder of Asunta Basterra. From who she was to why she was killed, the Netflix docuseries will cover it all.
Playing key roles in the series are Candela Peña as Rosario Porto, Tristán Ulloa as Alfonso Basterra and Iris Whu as Asunta. The series also stars Javier Gutiérrez, Carlos Blanco, María León, Francesc Orella, Alicia Borrachero, Raúl Arévalo and Ricardo de Barreiro. The Asunta Case will talk about the real story of how the little girl was murdered and the true crime series will arrive on Netflix on 26 April.
So, what is the real story behind the Netflix show The Asunta Case?
Asunta Basterra’s murder took place in September 2013 in Spain. The 12-year-old girl was found dead in a forest area near Santiago de Compostela. Her adoptive parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, were later arrested and charged with her murder. During the investigation, several evidence pieces indicated that Asunta had been sedated with a powerful drug before being asphyxiated. Both Porto and Basterra were found guilty of murder in 2015 and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Meet the family
Asunta Basterra was born Fang Yong in 2000 in Yongzhou, Hunan, China. She was adopted by Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra when she was nine years old. The family lived in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Rosario Porto came from a prominent Galician family and was an honorary consul of France. Alfonso Basterra was a journalist. They were both well-known in their community.
When Alfonso found out that Rosario was cheating on him, the couple decided to get divorced. At this time, Rosario was suffering from flare-ups of Lupus erythematosus and depression. The couple mutually agreed that Alfonso would take care of Asunta and Rosario, and in exchange, she would help him financially. The duo lived close by and Asunta split her time between the two homes.
The death of the little girl
Asunta was first reported missing by her parents on 21 September 2013. Her body was discovered on 22 September 2013 on the side of a small mountain road in the parish of San Simón de Ons of Cacheiras. The same type of orange rope that Asunta’s limbs had been tied with was found in a bin in Rosario Porto’s country house in Montouto, some 5 km away from the crime scene. When enquired about the details of Asunta’s disappearance, Rosario kept changing her testimony vis-a-vis the evidence that the police kept bringing in.
The investigation that followed
Suspicion fell on Asunta’s adoptive parents, who were arrested and charged with her murder. Evidence suggested that Porto and Basterra gave their daughter as many as twenty-seven Lorazepam pills on the day of her death, nine times more than a high dosage amount for an adult. She had died of asphyxiation. 135 witnesses testified to seeing the parents behaving strangely around the time of Asunta’s death. The real story around this investigation will be discussed in the Netflix docuseries, The Asunta Case.
The trial and the final verdict
The trial began in 2015 and lasted for several weeks. Prosecutors presented evidence implying Porto and Basterra’s involvement in the murder. The trial revealed disturbing details about the family dynamics and the mental state of the parents. In October 2015, Porto and Basterra were found guilty of murder by a jury in Santiago de Compostela. They were sentenced to 18 years in prison each. It was discovered that Alfonso Basterra was in charge of buying the drugs. The parents supplied it to Asunta for at least three months before the death, three times in July and once on 18 September. On the day of her death, the parents ate with Asunta at the father’s house and they gave her a quantity of Lorazepam, which later helped them to asphyxiate her. The High Court of Justice of Galicia complied that it was Rosario who suffocated her daughter.
What happened next?
Despite being in the same prison, Asunta’s parents never met again, except in court. Rosario Porto firmly maintained her innocence until she took her own life on 18 November 2020. The possible motive for the murder was never discovered.
Hero & Feature Image: Courtesy IMDb
Also read: The true story behind British drama Baby Reindeer on Netflix
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What happened to Asunta Basterra?
Her adoptive parents allegedly murdered Asunta Basterra at the age of 12.
