The Asunta Case delves deep into the murder trial that shocked Spain — but true crime fans have one major question about the Netflix series.
For the uninitiated, The Asunta Case is based on the disturbing true story of Asunta Yong Fang, a teenage girl who was murdered in 2013 by her adoptive parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra.
The murder trial was one of the most highly publicized in Spain, sparking shock when the parents went from being victims to suspects. Although they were convicted, they maintained their innocence, and Rosario died by suicide in prison in 2020.
There are still many questions about what really happened, with one in particular taking precedence following the release of the Netflix series — how involved was Asunta’s adoptive father, Alfonso?
The conflicting evidence surrounding Alfonso Basterra
It’s safe to say there are a lot of conflicting opinions on what really happened. Some believe Alfonso was abusive and the mastermind behind the plan, others believe it was all down to Rosario, and then there are people who think they weren’t involved at all, and it was an unknown assailant.
What we know for sure is that less than a year before Asunta’s death, Alfonso found out that his wife had been cheating on him. The couple split and while it was initially volatile, they came to an agreement. Alfonso would help to take care of Asunta and assist Rosario when she was going through depressive periods, and in exchange, she would help him financially.
During the trial, it was revealed that Alfonso had obtained 175 Lorazepam pills over a 10 week period. This is a benzodiazepine that causes drowsiness, and as well as being prescribed to Rosario, it’s the same drug that was found in Asunta’s system by the coroner. It was reported that she had at least 27 Lorazepam pills in her system at the time of death, and a hair strand test showed that she’d been given it for around three months. Neither parent could explain why this was the case.
During the investigation, Alfonso’s phone and laptop were seized, and information leaked that stated he had visited numerous pornographic websites, including ones featuring explicit videos of women with Asian features.
It was also reported that there were suggestive photos of Asunta, with one reporter stating in the Netflix series, “Some photos of Asunta have been found. In one of them, she’s wearing her ballet clothes. With tights, a top, wearing make-up, like an adult. Some people say her poses are… not appropriate for her age.”
There are conflicting accounts on what happened here. As reported by La Voz de Galicia, at the time, an officer suggested that Alfonso may have moved his laptop. When authorities found it, they claimed that more than 500,000 files had been deleted.
However, a viewer of The Asunta Case took to Reddit to explain further details, stating that they are Spanish and around the same age as Asunta, meaning they remember the case well.
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The Asunta Case viewers are divided
Discussing the suggestive photos of Asunta, they wrote, “This topic was one of the biggest ones the media discussed during the trial and there’s a lot of misinformation about it. Starting with the fact that these photos were found in the mother’s phone and not in the father’s computer as it was reported.”
They shared a La Razón article that backs up this claim, adding: “The parents took hundreds of photos of Asunta, some in which she is seen after a ballet recital and some have said she looked ‘suggestive’. This one is more of a personal opinion but for me the photos really didn’t look out of the ordinary after a ballet recital, she is dressed in her dancing clothes and looking tired.”
They went on to say that Alfonso’s laptop “was found long after the initial investigation and it was wiped out, so not much was found in it. The father said that he didn’t want it to be found because after their divorce he sent some nasty emails to the mom and things could be misinterpreted.
“What was found however was a large quantity of porn files, some of which included ‘Asian looking women’, but the investigators said that it wasn’t outstanding and that he simply had a lot of porn, not just specific to Asian women.”
While some believe this, others stand on the other side of the debate. In response, one said: “Funny thing is that you can take all these points, look at them from a different perspective and use them against the parents. And as you mentioned there’s no other suspect. This was not a crime committed by some random stranger.
“The most suspicious thing to me is the attack in July. Why not report it? Someone breaks in, strangles your child, and you’re like, ‘Hm yeah sure sure I’ll go to the police,” but you never do, instead you put a freakin’ post-it on the door? If someone would attack me I’d be terrified that they’ll come back, I couldn’t even sleep. I’d go straight to the police. There’s no sane explanation for this. There’s also no explanation for the drugs.”
Elsewhere, a viewer wrote, “’I’m still confused why they charged the father??? And he had porn on his computer… not anything nefarious. That was fed to the media by the prosecutor to prejudice the jury. He was not known to abuse any child, his child or otherwise.”
Others responded to suggest that Judge Malvar and the media circus surrounding the trial caused bias. “The entire case was speculation and mud-throwing, made me sick to my stomach watching how that judge manipulated the case to favor his side,” they wrote. “Are they both 100% innocent? I can’t say, but you also can’t say they were both 100% guilty.”
Clearly, there are still holes in the story, ones that will likely never be filled. Alfonso is currently serving his 18-year sentence at the Teixeiro prison in Spain, although he continues to maintain his innocence.
The Asunta Case is streaming on Netflix now. You can find more true crime coming out this month, plus check out even more amazing movies, TV shows, and K-drama.
