Among the much-awaited series of the month, The Asunta Case was released on Netflix on April 26, 2024. The Spanish web series features Candela Pena (Hierro) as Rosario Porto, Asunta’s mother, Tristan Ulloa (Berlin) as Alfonso Basterra, Asunta’s father, Javier Gutiérrez as Judge Malvar, Maria Leon (Sin Fin) as Agent Cristina Cruces, Carlos Blanco as Agent Javier Ríos Francesc Orella as Juan José Dominguez and more in the leading roles. Directed by Carlos Sedes and Jacobo Martínez, The Asunta Case (El Caso Asunta) is an investigative thriller based on the true story of the murder of a 12-year-old adopted Chinese girl Asunta Fong Yang. Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you have already watched The Asunta Case on Netflix and are wondering about the real reason for Asunta Fong Yang's murder. Below is everything you need to know about Netflix's real-life The Asunta Case-
The Asunta Case True Story
The Asunta Case is the true story of the events leading to the murder of 12-year-old Asunta Fong Yang by her Spanish parents who adopted her. In 2001, a baby from China named Asunta Fong Yang was adopted by Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, a well-to-do couple living in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. While Alfonso Basterra was a freelance journalist, Rosario Porto was the daughter of a lawyer who had been honorary consul for France in Santiago.
While at first, everyone believed that the life of Asunta Fong Yang would turn out to be great in Spain, what happened next hit the international media in 2013. Shortly before Asunta Fong Yang's 13th birthday, her Spanish parents reportedly her missing. Later, Asunta Fong Yang's body was found beside a country road outside the city of Santiago on September 22, 2013. This started an investigation. As per reports, the autopsy report revealed that Asunta Fong Yang died by asphyxiation, and had been given at least twenty-seven Lorazepam pills on the day of her death, more than nine times a high dosage amount for an adult.
During the investigation, the authorities saw CCTV footage that caught Porto driving Asunta out of her city. Later it was established that Alfonso Basterra was also present in the car.
Why did Alfonso Basterra & Rosario Porto murder their adopted daughter?
During the trial, the Prosecution dropped a theory in the court that Asunta's adopted parents had grown tired of caring for her, particularly after their marriage started to fall apart. During the trial, the jury also heard that Porto (Asunta's mother) suffered psychological issues which pre-dated her adoption of Asunta. Her struggles worsened in the wake of the deaths of both her parents in quick succession. During the trail, it was also revealed that Porto and Basterra's marriage had a history of being abusive, and broke down months before Asunta's death after Basterra discovered Porto was having an affair.
(Real-life Rosario Porto)
Notably, neither of the parents ever accepted that they killed their daughter.
After their arrests, Porto was recorded in the police holding cell saying to her ex-husband, "Look what trouble your overheated imagination has got us into." However, the recordings were declared inadmissible by a court. Another aspect of the case that Netflix showcased was Basterra’s computer. A Spanish media portal reported that it was not at his apartment when police initially inspected it, but Basterra said it had not been moved. When the computer was obtained, an agent testified that more 500,000 files “had been deleted, including videos and images of a sexual nature."