Netflix: This series based on a shocking criminal case is a hit among subscribers

Netflix: This series based on a shocking criminal case is a hit among subscribers



The Asunta case: what is this successful Netflix miniseries?

The Spanish miniseries is arriving on Netflix on April 26th The Asunta affair it rose directly to second place among the most watched series in France, immediately behind My little reindeer. These two series have in common that they are adapted from real sordid stories. If the latter involves an extreme case of harassment, the former reverts to a criminal affair that shocked Spain more than ten years ago, after the suspicious death of a 12-year-old girl near Santiago de Compostela.

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The six-episode miniseries returns to the investigation that led the authorities to question the testimonies of the young girl’s adoptive parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra. The last episode is entirely dedicated to the trial of the latter, as the noose gradually closed on them and their guilt for the death of their adopted daughter was no longer in doubt.

The chilling true story behind the series

On September 21, 2013, Asunta Basterra Porto, a 12-year-old girl of Chinese origin, was found dead near Santiago de Compostela. Her adoptive parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, had reported her missing shortly before her, but their behavior immediately aroused suspicion.

The trial began in September 2015, two years after Asunta’s body was found. Rosario Porto, 46, and Alfonso Basterra, 51, were accused of drugging and killing their adopted daughter. The investigators revealed thisAsunta had been drugged for months with anxiolytics, particularly Lorazepam, causing drowsiness noted by his teachers. An autopsy revealed that the little girl died of asphyxiation.

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The accusations were strengthened by contradictions in the parents’ testimonies. Rosario Porto was arrested shortly after her daughter’s funeral, followed shortly by the arrest of Alfonso Basterra. Autopsies showed that Asunta’s body contained Diazepam, an antidepressant consumed by Rosario Portosuggesting a possible direct involvement.

During the trial, Rosario Porto testified tearfully, saying that she did her best to raise Asunta and that her happiness was her “only concern.” Despite this, the contradictory elements and the accusation of having killed her, especially for a potential legacy (Asunta’s maternal grandparents died a year before her death), it weighed a lot.

The trial continued until October 21, 2015, concluding with both parents being sentenced to 18 years in prison each for the murder of her adopted daughter (even though it was the mother who asphyxiated her daughter, the father was found to be an accomplice). In November 2020, Rosario Porto committed suicide in her prison cell by hanging herself.

This affair not only shocked Spain, but also had resonance in France, in particular due to the involvement of Rosario Porto, former honorary consul of France in Galicia. The case continues to raise questions, particularly about the motives for the crime, which currently remain unclear.

Source: Cine Serie

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