In June 2001, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, a wealthy Spanish couple from Santiago de Compostela, flew to China to adopt a baby girl. Porto, a lawyer, and Basterra, a freelance journalist, were approved by local authorities as suitable parents. They brought home nine-month-old Asunta Fong Yang from Hunan province, renaming her Asunta Fong Yang Basterra Porto.
Asunta grew up in a privileged environment, with access to private medical care through her parents' connections. She was considered exceptionally bright, but by age 12, her behaviour became erratic, and she was prescribed medication. In September 2013, her body was found beside a country road. Autopsy results showed she had been asphyxiated and had high levels of lorazepam, a sedative, in her system.
Police arrested Porto and Basterra shortly after. Investigations revealed that they had been administering lorazepam to Asunta for months, possibly to control her. The motive remains unclear, but prosecutors argued the parents killed her because they could no longer cope with her behaviour. Both were convicted of murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The case shocked Spain and became the subject of a Netflix documentary, 'The Asunta Case', exploring the dark side of adoption and parental expectations.
