Surely you’ve already seen it in the Netflix catalog. The Asunta case is a new series that premiered on the platform and tells the tragic story of a Chinese girl who was adopted by a Spanish couple.
The minor was 12 years old when she disappeared and, shortly after, her body was found abandoned in the field. The crime happened in 2013 and they are what Netflix used to recreate the case that shook Spain and the rest of the world.
However, it is based on real events, so some data and identities were omitted.
This is the story of how the Asunta case happened in real life.
What was the Asunta case like in real life?
If you have not yet seen the series, details will be revealed below that could make you spoiler.
Not all of the mysteries of the Asunta case were solved in real life. But It all starts with the adoption of a girl from China (who was one year old at the time and was called Fang Yong) who was welcomed by Alfonso Basterra and Rosario Porto, a well-off couple from Santiago de Compostela.
They renamed her Asunta and they seemed to be a happy family. However, the reality was completely different.
According to the BBC, Alfonso Basterra (the adoptive father) was a journalist, while Rosario Porto (the adoptive mother) was a lawyer, as well as the daughter of the French consul, who was very well known in the city.
They could not have biological children, since the woman suffered from lupus erythematosus. which risked her having a high-risk pregnancy. It was for this that They decided to adopt, and that’s how Asunta Barrera, an intelligent girl, came into their lives. who learned everything quickly and stood out for his discipline.
She was very loved by her adoptive grandparents, she did well at school and had friends. And so, He was supposed to be growing up in a loving home with more than average privilege. Nevertheless, He was almost 13 years old when his adoptive parents reported him missing.
It was the night of September 21, 2013. A few hours after searching for her, They found his body on a road near a wooded area. His body was tied with orange ropes and there were no signs of sexual abuse. The autopsy revealed that died from asphyxiation and that he had high doses of lorazepam in his body, a tranquilizer and anxiolytic drug.
The parents, initially devastated, collaborated with what they could in the investigation. Nevertheless, The detectives began to find inconsistencies in their testimonies and ended up declaring them as suspects.
One of the clues that led them to this hypothesis was that in One of the properties that the family had – and which was near the place where they found the body – there were orange ropes, very similar to the ones Asunta had on her body.
The evidence that incriminated Asunta’s parents
Rosario and Alfonso had different versions of what they had done the day the girl disappeared. The authorities ended up arresting both for investigation.
That’s when they found that the couple was struggling with a series of problems.. That year (2013), he discovered that his wife was being unfaithful and they were on the verge of divorcing. That’s how the father went to live in an apartment near the house where they lived with Asunta.
Then, a “strange event” occurred, where A masked man entered the girl’s room at night and tried to strangle her. Rosario managed to scare away the intruder, but she did not file a complaint.
After, The girl began to show drowsiness in class and revealed to her teacher that her mother gave her some “powders” that made her sleep.
What was it like the day Asunta died, according to the trial
As reconstructed in the trial where the girl’s parents were accused, Asunta’s death was like this.
The girl left her house at 1:55 p.m. to her father’s apartment. There, he had lunch with Alfonso and Rosario. Then she returned alone to her mother’s house. Several hours later, Rosario entered the house, took the car, got into Asunta and headed to the second property, where the ropes appeared.
Rosario assured that she had left the girl at home. However, security cameras captured Asunta in the vehicle. Once at the second property, The woman left in the car again, but Asunta could not be seen. That night, Alfonso and Rosario reported their daughter missing.
This is how on October 30, the jury declared both guilty of the murder of Asunta. As they specified, The woman suffocated the girl with her husband’s connivance. Each received a sentence of 18 years in prison.
Despite this, Nobody knows what motivated her daughter to be murdered.
Rosario Porto committed suicide in prison in 2020 and Alfonso Basterra continues to serve his sentence until 2031. The man sent a letter to the producer of the Netflix series and claimed to be innocent: “I only have one reason to stay alive, which is none other than to be a free man again and reunite with my girl, never before,” he wrote.
