Rosario Porto Ortega was born in 1969 in Galicia, Spain, into a prominent and wealthy family. Her father, Francisco Porto Mella, was an honorary consul of France and a respected lawyer, while her mother, María del Socorro Ortega Romero, was an art history professor. Rosario studied law at the University of Santiago de Compostela and later managed her father’s legal firm. In 1997, she inherited her father’s consul title and became the honorary consul of France in Galicia.

In 1996, Rosario married journalist Alfonso Basterra. Due to lupus and other health issues that prevented pregnancy, the couple traveled to China in 2001 and adopted nine-month-old Asunta Yong Fang. Rosario and Alfonso appeared to live a privileged life, raising Asunta in Santiago de Compostela.

However, the marriage was troubled. In 2013, Alfonso discovered Rosario’s extramarital affair, leading to their separation and eventual divorce. Despite this, Rosario and Alfonso maintained contact while sharing responsibilities for Asunta. In the months leading to the crime, Rosario suffered bouts of depression and erratic behavior, which would later be scrutinized during the murder investigation.

On 21 September 2013, 12-year-old Asunta Basterra was reported missing by her adoptive parents. The next morning, her body was found near a rural road in Teo, Galicia. She had been heavily sedated with at least 27 lorazepam pills—more than nine times a high adult dose—and then asphyxiated.

Investigators quickly focused on Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra due to inconsistencies in their statements and surveillance footage contradicting their timeline. A toxicology report revealed that Asunta had been drugged multiple times in the months leading up to her death, suggesting a pattern of deliberate sedation.

Evidence pointed to Rosario as the one who physically asphyxiated Asunta at the family’s country home in Teo, while Alfonso was found to have supplied the sedatives and participated in planning the crime. The couple later transported Asunta’s body and abandoned it on the roadside.

On 30 October 2015, both Rosario and Alfonso were convicted of murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The court concluded that Rosario carried out the act of suffocation but both parents shared responsibility for the killing. The motive was never fully established, with theories ranging from parental control to unresolved psychological issues.

While incarcerated, Rosario attempted suicide multiple times. On 18 November 2020, she died by suicide in Brieva women’s prison, ending her sentence prematurely.

Rosario Porto is deceased following suicide in prison. Alfonso Basterra remains imprisoned, serving an 18-year sentence for his role in the murder.