Why did Asunta’s hair play an important role in the investigation?

Forensics played an important role in the murder investigation Assunta Basterra. Although only his mother was initially arrested, Rosario Porto, due to inconsistencies in his testimony, it was the forensic medical examination that gave the impetus to his father’s arrest. In particular, it was Assunta Hair Analysis which showed that he had taken lorazepam tablets at the exact moment that Alfonso Basterra purchased them from a nearby pharmacy.

The girl had been coming to classes with dizziness for several months. His music teachers told researchers that he had to walk leaning on walls so as not to lose your balance. Her parents explained that she was taking antihistamines, but Asunta insisted that she had no allergies. She explained to the teachers that her parents had given her something, but she didn’t know what exactly.

For this reason, forensic experts wanted to examine the girl’s hair in search of traces of lorazepam. This is a very common procedure in such cases. But how and why is this done?

Clues in Assunta Basterra’s hair

When a person uses a drug, either intentionally or unintentionally, it stays in their blood for only a certain amount of time. It is then metabolized and what remains is excreted so that it can no longer be detected. On the other hand, with hair something else is happening.

Growing hair is nourished by blood, which reaches Hair follicles. If this blood contains a substance, such as lorazepam, which Asunta took, it gets into the growing hair cells. Until it is renewed, the drugs remain there, increasingly separating from the root as the hair grows.

Drugs similar to cocaine have been found in the hair of 4,000-year-old mummies. The hair itself was also examined. Ludwig van Beethovento find out if lead poisoning had anything to do with his deafness and death. In much more pressing cases, such as partying in nightclubs, some girls’ hair was tested for drugs. It was expected that the message from Asunta would provide some clue, and it did.

Investigators looking into the case took a strand of the girl’s hair. As explained in the documentary Asunta Case (Operation Nenufar), Its 12 centimeters, starting from the root, will correspond to approximately an annual increase. So they took this length of hair and divided it into three segments that would relate to three quarters of the year.

It was observed that the segment closest to the root and therefore the most recent one contained significant doses of lorazepam. This indicates that this was the last time Assunta consumed it. 3-4 months.

What does all this have to do with my father?

Rosario Porto was prescribed Lorazepam. insomnia. Her husband had taken several boxes from the pharmacy in recent months, which coincided with the time Asunta began to feel dizzy.

Since forensic hair testing confirmed he had taken them, it became clear that the father did not buy the boxes to help his wife sleep. At least, it was not what was already felt at that moment. investigation of crimes. Hair played a crucial role in the arrest, as in many other cases in forensic history.