The new Netflix series Moria brings one of Argentine actress and tv-personality Moria Casán’s most unusual chapters back into the spotlight. The eight-episode drama follows the icon through different stages of her career and personal life. Among those chapters, Paraguay occupies a particularly memorable place. In December 2015, Casán spent nine days at Asunción’s Buen Pastor women’s prison after returning to Paraguay over a jewellery case.
The jewellery case
The story began three years earlier, after Moria Casán travelled to Paraguay for a fashion show. On 27 July 2012, she appeared at the Conmebol Convention Centre in the city of Luque, near Asunción, wearing jewellery supplied by Paraguayan jeweller Armando Benítez. The pieces included a necklace and earrings, reportedly worth around US$80,000. After the event, Benítez reported that the jewellery had disappeared, starting a legal case that would follow Casán for years.
Casán left Paraguay at the time, but the investigation continued. By 2015, Paraguayan authorities had sought her extradition, while Argentine courts rejected that request. Instead of waiting for another legal development, Casán chose to travel to Asunción herself. Her aim was to face the proceedings and resolve the case, although the decision quickly produced a very different outcome.
Nine days at Buen Pastor
On 14 December 2015, Casán arrived at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport. Authorities detained her because of the outstanding case and transferred her through police facilities before her court appearance. The following day, Judge Dina Marchuk ordered her transfer to Buen Pastor women’s prison, rejecting a request for house arrest backed by a US$210,000 guarantee.
When Moria Casán entered the women’s prison, however, the atmosphere surprised many observers. Rather than facing hostility, she received cheers from other inmates, who recognised the famous Argentine performer. During her nine days there, she shared meals, conversations and everyday routines with other women. Later, Casán described the experience warmly and said her fellow inmates treated her with extraordinary kindness.
The prison experience also became more personal than Casán expected. She formed friendships with several inmates and later returned to Paraguay to visit them. In 2017, she visited former prison companions at Buen Pastor.
Moria Casán: from scandal to screen
Casán eventually regained her freedom on 23 December 2015, after nine days in custody and legal agreements surrounding the case. The jewellery proceedings continued afterwards, while a separate drug-related case also emerged during her imprisonment. Paraguayan courts ultimately brought the different legal chapters to a close.
More than a decade later, the episode has found a new audience through Moria. Netflix describes the series as a highly stylised fictionalisation of Casán’s life, fame and constant reinvention. Cecilia Roth, Griselda Siciliani and Sofía Gala Castiglione portray her across different periods of her life.
For Paraguayan viewers, however, the story carries an extra connection. The final episode revisits Casán’s imprisonment, bringing the Buen Pastor chapter back into popular conversation. A bizarre episode that once dominated headlines in Paraguay now appears as part of the larger story of how Moria Casán built one of Argentina’s most recognisable public personas.
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