CASO ASUNTA BASTERRA PORTO

Background

The girl Asunta Basterra Porto, originally named Fang Yong, was born in Yongzhou, Hunan, China, and was adopted at just one year old by lawyer Rosario Porto Ortega and journalist Alfonso Basterra Camporro.

Asunta’s adoptive parents reported her disappearance on the evening of September 21, 2013. In the early hours of the following day, two people discovered a body on a forest track in the parish of San Simón de Ons de Cacheiras, in the municipality of Teo (just 5 km from Rosario Porto’s country house in Montouto, also in Teo). Emergency services were alerted and later identified the body as the missing girl. On September 24, Asunta’s mother, Rosario Porto, was arrested and investigated for a suspected homicide. A day later, her father, Alfonso Basterra, was also arrested and investigated.

1. Crime Scene

This section describes where the body was found, along with a brief theoretical explanation for context.

Asunta’s body was found on a forest track in the parish of San Simón de Ons de Cacheiras, in the municipality of Teo.

The crime scene was an open and disposal site:

• A crime scene is any location connected to an event classified as a crime. It refers to the place where a crime occurred in any of its phases and where traces or evidence related to the perpetrator or the event itself remain.

• Open scene: Exposed to the environment—directly affected by weather conditions.

• Disposal site: The place where a victim is released or where evidence from the crime is discarded.

2. Evidence

2.1 Orange Ropes

When Asunta's body was found on a forest track in Teo, three pieces of orange rope were discovered next to it. These ropes were identical to a spool found in the pantry of the Teo house.

Similarly, in Rosario Porto’s home in Teo, pieces of this same orange rope were found in a wicker trash bin, along with some tissues or wet wipes.

Both the spool and the three pieces found near Asunta’s body were analyzed using gas chromatography [1]. In material analysis, this test is as reliable as DNA testing.

The study concluded that the three pieces of rope found at the scene undeniably came from the spool in the house. When questioned about the rope, Basterra claimed it was used by the gardeners, but they denied this when testifying before the judge.

The orange rope thus directly linked the house in Teo to the location where Asunta’s body was found.

2.2 Wet Wipes Found in a Wicker Trash Bin

In the mother’s room in the Teo house, investigators found tissues containing both Asunta’s and her mother’s DNA. Authorities believe these tissues may have been used to smother the girl, blocking her nose and mouth until she suffocated.

During a search of the home, Porto asked to use the bathroom, but an officer followed her and caught her trying to dispose of these tissues, along with pieces of rope and other papers.

2.3 The Presence of the Anxiolytic Lorazepam in Toxic Levels in Asunta’s Blood

Investigators determined that Asunta had been given the anxiolytic drug lorazepam ("Orfidal") since July 2013, and on September 21, 2013, she received a lethal dose of 27 mg.

Rosario Porto had a prescription for Orfidal due to her nervous breakdowns, as well as Prozac. Court documents revealed that Alfonso Basterra purchased 75 Orfidal pills in just twelve days, the first time on July 5.

In the months leading up to the murder, Asunta suffered several episodes of intoxication consistent with lorazepam ingestion. Her music teachers and the autopsy report, which included a hair analysis [2], confirmed that the girl had ingested high doses of the drug in the weeks before her death.

Furthermore, an analysis of Rosario Porto’s clothing found traces of Orfidal powder on her dress, a discovery for which she offered no explanation.

2.4 Rosario Porto’s Changing Statements

Initially, Porto claimed that when Asunta disappeared, she was at her apartment in Santiago de Compostela. However, she later admitted that she had gone to the country house in Teo with Asunta. This change in her statement was prompted by a security camera recording that captured them together in the car heading toward Teo.

2.5 The Laptop and Second Mobile Phone of the Father Disappeared at the Start of the Investigation

Alfonso Basterra’s laptop was a key focus of the investigation because it was missing during two police searches of his apartment. Weeks later, his lawyer, Belén Hospido, informed the court that the device was in his home. Investigators later found it in a location where it should have been easily noticed during the searches.

Authorities suspected that after filing the missing person report, Basterra took advantage of a moment alone to dispose of the laptop. When it was found, it had been wiped clean of fingerprints and much of its content erased. The recovered data revealed pornographic content, including images and videos featuring Asian women, which raised further suspicion.

Asunta’s mobile phone, which she had inherited from her mother, contained poems she had written and disturbing photos. Some pictures showed her wrapped like a corpse in a sleeping bag, lying on a bed or the floor. Others depicted her wearing a cabaret performance outfit in poses considered inappropriate for a child, such as sitting with her legs apart or with forced smiles.

3. Verdict

The court unanimously found Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra guilty of their daughter Asunta Basterra Porto’s murder. Since there were no "unproven facts", the jury opposed any pardons or sentence suspensions.

The jury went even further than the prosecution, not ruling out the possibility that Basterra was also in the car with Asunta and Porto on the way to Teo.

After the verdict was read, Rosario Porto remained composed, while Alfonso Basterra reacted with repeated gestures of denial. The prosecution requested 18 years in prison for murder with treachery, while the public prosecution demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Death of Rosario Porto

On November 18, 2020, Rosario Porto was found dead in her cell at Brieva prison, Ávila, where she was serving her sentence. Authorities reported that she had committed suicide by hanging.

Media Productions and Controversies

In April 2024, Netflix released the series "El caso Asunta", based on the events surrounding Asunta’s murder. The production sparked criticism, particularly from Ricardo Pérez Lama, the prosecution lawyer, who accused the series of "whitewashing" Alfonso Basterra’s image and mixing real events with fiction, potentially misleading the audience.

Awards

In January 2025, the Netflix series "El caso Asunta" won four Iris Awards, including Best Fiction Series, Best Actress (Candela Peña), Best Directing, and Best Fiction Production.

These events have kept Asunta’s case in the public eye, sparking debates about the media’s role in portraying criminal cases and the ethical implications of such representations.

[1] Chromatography is an instrumental technique used to separate the components of a mixture, such as hydrocarbons, which are often used as accelerants in the commission of crimes such as: staging accidental fires in buildings or infrastructure, environmental crimes, and, among other purposes, making people disappear by incineration with the intent of leaving no organic traces.

[2] Hair analysis provides highly valuable and additional information compared to traditional sample analysis, such as blood and urine tests, as it allows for the chronological profiling of a subject’s substance use, establishing the pattern of any compound consumption over time. These techniques help clarify cases of chemical submission and detect false accusations.