Netflix UK has added a new true crime drama, The Asunta Case, based on the real-life murder of a 12-year-old adopted girl in Spain. Asunta Fong Yang was adopted as a baby by a wealthy couple, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, from Santiago de Compostela. In 2013, her body was found beside a country road, and her parents were later arrested and convicted of her murder.
The case shocked Spain and drew international attention due to the couple's social standing. Porto was a lawyer and honorary consul for France, while Basterra was a freelance journalist. They adopted Asunta from China in 2001, when she was nine months old. At the time, foreign adoptions were becoming more common in Spain, with the country ranking second in the world for such adoptions by 2004.
Asunta was described as a bright child, but as she grew older, behavioural issues emerged. The couple's relationship also deteriorated, leading to a separation. On the day of her death, Asunta was found dead in a rural area, having been drugged and suffocated. Her parents were arrested after inconsistencies in their statements and evidence linking them to the crime.
The drama explores the complex motives behind the murder, including possible financial gain and psychological factors. The case remains one of the most notorious in Spanish criminal history, and the Netflix series aims to shed light on the events leading up to the tragedy.
