The chilling truth behind Netflix’s true crime thriller The Asunta Case

If there's one thing that we can rely on Netflix producers to get right every single time, it's their chilling adaptations of real-life events.

Whether that be a limited series filled to the brim with spine-tingling found footage and first-person interviews, or a heart-stopping fictionalisation of a heinous crime, the streaming service's psychologically-thrilling originals meet the mark time and time again.

In the last month alone, three-part jaw-dropping docu-series What Jennifer Did has had viewers clinging onto the edge of their seats, whilst British drama Baby Reindeer has let fans in on the haunting reality of being stalked.

And this week, there's one crime drama series that seemingly has EVERYBODY talking, despite the harrowing real-life case upon which it is based having transpired over a decade ago.

A mini-series on Netflix is based on a haunting true story involving a schoolgirl and her adoptive parents. (X/@GABINETEFORTE)

Titled The Asunta Case, this Spanish crime-thriller mini series covers a police investigation into the disappearance of a Chinese-born schoolgirl, which was reported by her adoptive parents, and the subsequently discovery of her dismembered body.

Since landing on the app this weekend, hundreds of viewers have since taken to social media to applaud writers over the riveting plotline.

"The Asunta case is gooooood on Netflix," one penned on X, as another wrote: "I’m watching the Asunta case on Netflix ppl crazy."

What many fans of the show seemingly aren't yet aware of, however, is that the six-part hit is actually based on a gruesome murder that took place in 2013.

In what became one of Spain's most high-profile crimes, 12-year-old adopted youngster Asunta Yong Fang was reported missing by her parents Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra.

In the hours that followed, the couple were unable to articulately describe where they'd been prior to their adoptive daughter's disappearance, and very quickly, police found holes in the attempted alibi of her mother, Rosario.

The following day, a passersby discovered the child's deceased remains on the side of a small mountain road.

A coroner's report found that Asunta had had her limbs tied up prior to her death, and had died of from asphyxiation.

All fingers were initially pointed at her parents following Rosario's suspicious behaviour, which was confirmed after police caught the mother-of-one attempting to retrieve a ball of orange twine - the same that Asunta’s limbs had been tied in - from a bathroom bin in her home.

To strengthen their theory that the teen's adoptive parents had grown tired of caring for her, the prosecution used the coroner's subsequent discovery that Asunta had been given at least 27 Lorazepam pills on the day of her death to have Rosario and Alfonso arrested.

The Netflix adaptation of Asunta Yong Fang's murder has viewers hooked. (Netflix)

Tests of her hair strands also found that the Chinese native - who was adopted aged just nine-months-old - had been given the drowsiness drug periodically in the three months leading up to her murder.

Teachers from Asunta's school later came forward, claiming that the pre-teen had appeared increasingly more exhausted in recent months, with one even alleging that she told them: "My mother is trying to kill me."

In 2015, a jury unanimously found Rosario and Alfonso guilty of the death of their daughter and were each sentenced to 18 years behind bars, with many press reports at the time deeming Asunta's mother the mastermind in the plot to have her killed.

In 2020, following numerous failed attempts, Rosario took her own life whilst serving her sentence, whilst Alfonso remains at the Teixeiro prison in Spain.