Yahoo Lifestyle 19 Real-Life Facts Behind Netflix’s New True-Crime Show The Asunta Case
Note: This post contains mentions of suicide, murder, and drugs.
The case surrounding 12-year-old Asunta Basterra’s death in 2013 created a media frenzy, both in Santiago and globally. Two years later, her adoptive parents, Rosario Porto Ortega and Alfonso Basterra Camporro, were convicted for her murder under strange circumstances.
Nearly a decade after the criminal trial concluded, Netflix’s highly-anticipated series The Asunta Case reignited the public’s interest in what really happened. After all, both Rosario and Alfonso maintained their innocence even after sentencing. Below, I've broken down 19 facts related to the limited series.
1.Asunta was born Yong Fang.
After Rosario and Alfonso adopted the child, she was given the name Asunta Yong Fang Basterra, according to the book The Murder Of Asunta Yong Fang by Mark Guscin.
2.Asunta was a very gifted child.
Actress Iris Wu shined in the role of Asunta but the actual child was incredibly gifted. According to The Guardian, she skipped an academic year and was a polyglot who was fluent in Spanish and Galician. Asunta also enrolled in private classes to learn English, French, and Chinese and took a German class in school. On top of all of that, Asunta also excelled in the arts, having picked up the violin and piano, and taking ballet classes, as referenced in the series.
3.She was also the first Chinese child to be adopted in Santiago de Compostela, per The Guardian.
Since Rosario and Alfonso couldn't conceive a child, reportedly due to her Lupus diagnosis, the couple decided to adopt, La Voz De Galicia reports. Spain had strict adoption laws and a declining birth rate, so they decided to adopt abroad. Interestingly enough, Spain ranked second in the world for foreign adoptions, one position behind the United States.
4.Rosario Porto was a lawyer, just like her father.
Part of the reason why Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra didn't have much trouble convincing authorities in Spain that they'd be adequate parents is due to their background. Rosario Porto's father was a lawyer, one who became an honorary consul for France in Santiago, as The Guardian reports. After studying at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Porto later practiced at her father's firm. In 1997, she inherited her father's role as the appointed consul of France in Santiago.
5.She also allegedly claimed that she attended the London High School Of Law in London — a school that doesn't exist.
Per The Guardian, Porto posted her CV online claiming that she studied at the London High School Of Law. However, the publication's investigation concluded that no such school exists.
6.Asunta’s autopsy revealed that she had 27 crushed-up pills of anti-anxiety medication in her system when she died of asphyxiation.
The autopsy report for Asunta revealed that she had been heavily sedated prior to her death. Similar to the series, the coroner determined that she died from asphyxiation with 0.68 milligrams per liter of blood of the benzodiazepine, an anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia medication, found in her system — a dosage that forensic psychiatrist José Cabrera Forneiro told El Pais "implies the necessary toxicity to result in death, especially in children aged under 12."
7.The production team refused to shoot at the real locations connected to Asunta's murder.
In an interview with verTele, Bambu Producciones's co-founder Ramón Campos revealed that, while they did shoot in Santiago de Compostela and Vigo, they intentionally avoided filming at the house where Asunta lived and the country house where she was allegedly murdered.
8.Candela Peña had to convince the directors to play Rosario.
Candela Peña, who plays Rosario, was initially intended to play Cristina Cruces, Campos said in an interview with Donostitik. However, after making her case in front of Campos, she landed the role of Rosario Porta while María León was cast as Cruces.
9.Peña reportedly vomited on the first day on set after she put on her wig.
According to Euro ESEuro, Peña needed an ambulance after she tried on her wig for the role of Rosario Porto. “I was so scared that the first day they put the wig on me, I started vomiting," she reportedly said. Tristán Ulloa, who plays Alfonso Basterra, corroborated the claim in the same article, stating, "An ambulance came and the woman had been Rosario Porto’s classmate." The classmate was reportedly just as startled to see Peña since she shared an uncanny resemblance to Rosario Porto.
10.Asunta's inheritance played a role in the investigation.
While many questions surrounding the circumstances of Asunta's death remain unanswered, the Civil Guard initially suspected that her inheritance may have been a motive behind her death. An alleged cousin stated that the grandfather "decided to leave everything to her," according to El Mundo. Rosario's parents left behind a sizable inheritance to Asunta, leading investigators to suspect that money played a role in her death.
11.At one point, authorities considered launching a parallel investigation into the death of Rosario's parents.
The suspicions surrounding Rosario's involvement in her daughter's death were fortified by the theories of an economic motive. Per El Mundo, the Civil Guard believed that the couple had run out of cash and knew that their daughter would inherit the wealth. Since there were questions regarding whether grandparents died from natural causes, investigators suspected that there may have been a connection.
12.The majority of the crew for The Asunta Case were Galician and previously worked on Fariña
Speaking to Donostitik, Campos explained that part of the goal of The Asunta Case was to showcase the incredible talent of the Galicians.
13.Candela Peña required two coaches to help her nail the Galician accent.
In an interview with David Broncano on La Resisitencia, Peña revealed that she needed two linguistic coaches to help her master her Galician accent. It reportedly took her a week to say Alfonso's name correctly.
14.Peña also faced signficant backlash from locals for her role.
During her conversation with La Script podcast, she revealed that locals in Santiago would often curse her out throughout the filming. Not only were they upset about the character but also, the fact that she was getting paid to do so.
15.Ramón Campos communicated with Alfonso Basterra during the development of El caso Asunta (Operación Nenúfar).
Campos previously worked on the documentary, El caso Asunta (Operación Nenúfar) before moving forward with The Asunta Case for Netflix. During the filming of the documentary, Basterra reached out with a letter, obtained by 20minutos, where he proclaimed his innocence and revealed his intentions to disappear after his release.
16.Rosario Porto committed suicide in 2020.
Several years after she was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of Asunta Basterra, Porto died by suicide behind bars. Reports by La Razon claim that she had attempted suicide in the past as a result of her declining mental health.
17.Alfonso Basterra was perceived to be a pedophile by the time he went to court due to the media coverage.
The court of public opinion found Basterra and Porto guilty before they even had their trial. In an interview with Donostitik, actor Tristán Ulloa said that Basterra was already perceived to be a pedophile due to salacious rumors spread by tabloid TV shows, even though there wasn't any evidence to back up this claim. He also faced barrages of insults meant for child abusers, among other incarcerated people.
18.Rosario Porto suffered from mental health issues following the death of her parents.
Rosario Porto's struggles with her mental health were documented throughout The Asunta Case. In 2009, she was checked into a private psychiatric hospital due to suicidal feelings, apathy, and depression. Prior to her death, she had spent time in the psychiatric ward in prison. "She [Porto] gets very irritable with her daughter, who is a bother," a psychiatrist wrote in their notes, per The Guardian. Court-appointed psychologists later determined that she exhibited signs of narcissism and depression.
19.Asunta's ashes were left with a friend of Rosario's.
The Guardian reports that Asunta's adoptive parents were to decide what happened to ashes afterward.
