Grandfather of murdered girl blames mother for killing

The paternal grandfather of a murdered 12-year-old Galician girl said Saturday night that he believes his son is covering up for the child’s mother, Rosario Porto, who is being held as a suspect in the killing.

Speaking on the current affairs program broadcast on Telecinco, Abre los ojos (Open your eyes), Ramón Basterra said that his son told him that his ex-wife didn’t kill Asunta, the couple’s adopted daughter.

“He was in love with her and I suspect he would cover for her at any time. I believe she did it but that is only my personal suspicion,” Basterra said.

The son, Alfonso Basterra — Asunta’s father — is also being held in connection with the investigation, which was launched when Asunta was found dead on September 21 near Santiago.

Friends of the couple have revealed that Alfonso Basterra went back to Rosario last July when she was hospitalized. A few days earlier, Asunta became sick at a music academy where she was taking lessons. It was discovered that she had ingested a large amount of prescription medicine. Investigators believe that Asunta — who was adopted from China — was drugged and tied up before she was asphyxiated.

Rosario later told acquaintances that she had been hospitalized with a bout of the degenerative disease lupus.