The Murder of Asunta Yong Fang

Book excerpt: In September 2013, the body of 12-year-old Asunta Basterra (born in China and adopted while still a baby) was found abandoned at the side of a woodland path near Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Some days later, her parents were arrested as the prime suspects of the murder, and, after a long and complicated trial, which left various matters unsolved, were each sentenced to 18 years in prison. This is the first book in English about the murder and trial, and the only book to include the whole story as told in the author’s interviews with Asunta’s mother in prison (the only authorized visit in her four years in prison), the lawyers of both parties, the policemen and women who were directly involved in the arrest and the investigation, Asunta’s ballet teacher and journalists who covered the story from beginning to end.