The Asunta Case is now available to stream on Netflix.
Netflix have long been known for their sheer volume of true crime documentaries but taking a spin on the format with a fictional limited series, the streamer has now released The Asunta Case.
The six-parter is a miniseries based on true events, dramatically outlining the case of 12-year-old Asunta Basterra, who was reported missing by her parents in September 2013 and whose body was found hours later next to a road outside Santiago de Compostela.
The Spanish case gripped the nation when it unfolded across many years as the investigation turned the focus onto Asunta’s adopted parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, a wealthy couple who adopted Asunta (born Fang Yong) at nine months old from the Hunan province in China.
Now, because of the new Netflix production, many more people will come to learn about the shocking case and will, naturally, have questions about the true story at the centre of it. Read on for everything you need to know about the story behind The Asunta Case.
The Asunta Case true story: What happened to Asunta Basterra?
On the night of Saturday 21st September 2013, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra reported the disappearance of their daughter Asunta. The parents, who divorced in 2013, shared responsibilities of caring for Asunta. On that night in question, Porto had told police that Asunta was at her apartment doing homework and Porto had left her there as she went to the family’s country home in Teo parish.
When Porto returned home at 9:30pm, there was no sign of Asunta. Not being the kind of child to run away, Porto had called Basterra to see if their daughter had just gone to visit him, then the pair called some of Asunta’s friends to see if they had heard from her.
Reporting the disappearance to the police, Porto and Basterra were informed just a few hours later that Asunta’s body had been found next to a road outside Santiago de Compostela.
After days of interviews and a wake for Asunta, Porto was arrested at the funeral on 24th September after police had recovered CCTV footage that didn’t match up with Porto’s story of the night of Asunta’s disappearance.
The petrol station footage revealed that both Porto and Asunta were on their way to Teo at 6:20pm and after being confronted with the new timeline of events, Porto changed her story to explain that Asunta had accompanied her to the country home. She then said she took Asunta back to Santiago to do her homework and went out to a store, realised she left her purse in Teo and drove back to retrieve it.
After examining the CCTV footage of the surrounding areas and roads Porto claimed to have taken in this journey, the police found no evidence of her car and were led to believe that the mother and daughter had arrived in Teo around 6pm, but that Porto had left at 9pm.
When Asunta’s body was found in the parish of San Simón de Ons of Cacheiras – just 5km from Porto’s Teo country home – Porto and the police went to the country house where Porto was told not to touch anything, as it could be a potential crime scene.
Telling officers she needed to use the bathroom, she was found trying to retrieve the contents of a bin in the bedroom which contained orange twine, a similar kind to the type that was found next to Asunta’s body and could have been used to tie Asunta’s limbs together. Forensics were unable to clarify whether the twine used on Asunta was identical to the type found in Porto’s Teo home.
A day after Porto’s arrest, Basterra was also arrested, which led to outspread public shock within Santiago, where the couple were well known within the community and affluent circles.
After some delays, the trial finally began in October 2015 and the appointed jury found both Basterra and Porto guilty of the murder of their adopted daughter, Asunta Basterra.
A teenage acquaintance of Asunta’s had provided evidence in the trial stating that she had seen Asunta and her father on the day of the crime when he was meant to be at his home. The jury deduced that Basterra could have hidden in the backseat of Porto’s car as they drove to the country house. The coroner had determined that Asunta had died of asphyxiation and had been given at least 27 Lorazepam pills on the day of her death, which is more than nine times a high dosage amount for an adult.
The jury determined that Asunta had been smothered at the Teo country house and then her body dumped on a country road. The judge sentenced both to 18 years in prison for aggravated murder with aggravating circumstances of kinship and abuse of authority.
However, in May 2016, the High Court of Justice of Galicia amended the verdict after it was found that it could not be proven that Basterra was in Porto’s car and accompanied her to Teo. They maintained that Basterra planned and collaborated in the murder but that it was Porto who had caused the asphyxiation. The High Court dismissed the appeals of Porto and Basterra’s lawyers and confirmed the 18-year sentence for both.
Was there a motive behind Asunta’s murder?
The motive for Asunta’s murder was never fully explored in the trial, as both parents maintained their innocence.
In the investigation, it was found that Asunta had been ingesting smaller doses of Lorazepam for at least three months. This was concluded after forensic scientists tested a strand of Asunta’s hair and discovered the presence of Lorazepam in the first three centimetres.
This backed up claims from Asunta’s teachers at two music academies who had said that, in the months before her death, Asunta was unable to read sheet music, was dizzy and couldn’t walk straight.
Asunta had told Isabel Bello, who ran one of the academies: “I took some white powders.” She also told another violin teacher: “I don’t know what they are giving me. No one tells me the truth.”
Porto had told investigators in Asunta’s case that she had previously been awoken by Asunta’s screams on a July morning. She told officers that when she had rushed to Asunta’s room, she had found a man dressed in black with latex gloves bending over her daughter. When he ran out, he injured Porto’s cheek and Porto said that they had accidentally left the keys in the outside lock, although she did not know the man in question had entered the building.
Porto chose not to inform the police at the time as she didn’t want to make Asunta “feel unsafe in her own home” and also did not inform her neighbours of incident. Asunta had texted a friend at the time: “Today someone tried to kill me!” with a photo of finger marks on her neck.
After the widespread media speculation about Asunta’s murder, some believed that this masked man incident could have possibly been a first attempt on Asunta’s life, while others assumed it could have been a reason to give Asunta Lorazepam.
Porto’s neighbour gave evidence at the trial and claimed that nobody could have entered the house that night, as her dogs would’ve barked and they did not. The judge eventually concluded that her parents were the perpetrators of this attack, although Porto’s defence claimed otherwise.
What happened to Rosario Porto?
Porto committed suicide on 18th November 2020.
After being sentenced, Porto made multiple suicide attempts and, during her stay in prison, was admitted to the prison infirmary for depression. She had been placed in anti-suicide protocol programs at all three prisons where she served time, and maintained her innocence until her death.
What happened to Alfonso Basterra?
Basterra is serving his 18-year sentence in Teixeiro prison in A Coruña, Spain.
In 2017, a landmark documentary was made about the case, Lo que la verdad esconde: Caso Asunta (What the Truth Hides: The Asunta Case) and for it, Basterra sent a letter to its producers.
He wrote at the time (before the death of Rosario Porto): “When I regain my freedom, I have the firm intention of disappearing, no one will hear from me again, not even Rosario Porto.
“I have only one reason to stay alive, which is none other than to be a free man again and reunite with my girl, never before. In fact, I have already thought about the how and the where, I just need the when, but everything comes.”
The Asunta Case is now available to stream on Netflix.
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