Spanish couple convicted of murdering their 12-year-old daughter

On October 23, a Spanish couple was found guilty of murdering their 12-year-old adopted Chinese daughter.

Former lawyer Rosario Proto and her ex-husband, Jounalist Alfonso Basterra were accused of drugging their daughter Asunta Yong Fang Baasterrra Porto with sedative Orfidal for three months and suffocating her in September 2013. The girl’s body was found on September 22 in a wood near Santiago de Compestela.

A spokesman for the Galicia region said, “They were found guilty of murder.”  The couple could face up to 20 years in jail.

The court added: “The jury judged that the victim would not have been able to defend herself and refused to acquit the two accused.”

The case that shocked both Spain and Beijing has had more than a hundred witnesses and experts testifying and its jury had been deliberating since Monday.

The ex-lawyer told the Spanish court during trial that she had suffered from depression that year and had been taking the sedative Orfidal.

Prosecutors charged Mrs Proto with murder and both parents were charged with planning the crime.