An adopted girl who was accused of being a 22-year-old woman has made a shocking claim about her "adoptive parents".
Born in Ukraine, Natalia Grace was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett in 2010, only to later become the focus of international headlines and a documentary series.
The Barnetts, an Indiana couple, adopted Natalia believing she was six years old. However, their relationship took a dramatic turn when they began accusing her of sinister behavior.
In the docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace by Investigation Discovery, the couple alleged that Natalia attempted to harm them and their biological children.
Specific claims included poisoning Kristine’s coffee, dragging her toward an electric fence, and planting thumbtacks on the stairs.
In 2012, two years after adopting Natalia, the Barnetts successfully petitioned Marion County Probate Court to change her birth year from 2003 to 1989, legally reclassifying her age as 22.
Natalia has consistently denied these claims, maintaining that she was a child at the time.
In 2013, the Barnetts moved to Canada with their biological children, leaving Natalia alone in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana.
The couple was subsequently charged with neglect of a dependent. However, Michael Barnett was acquitted in 2022, and charges against Kristine were dropped in 2023.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Natalia recounted her struggles living alone, particularly as someone with a disability navigating a second-story apartment.
“I really disliked being the girl who was re-aged and lived in her own apartment,” she said. “I didn't understand why I was alone. I just knew I had this instinct in me to push and survive."
Natalia also alleged that she was coerced into lying about her age.
“All I was told was, ‘You're 22 now. Whenever somebody asks you what your age is, you say you're 22 and you tried to murder your family.’ I was taught to lie," she claimed.
She further accused Kristine of physical and psychological abuse, including hitting her with a belt, pepper-spraying her, and overmedicating her.
Natalia vehemently denied the allegations that she had tried to harm Kristine.
"Do I look like somebody that could push someone twice my size into a fence? Do I look like I could even grip a knife?" she asked. "I feel like I was brainwashed by the Barnetts."
Kristine Barnett responded to Natalia’s claims in a Facebook post, stating, “Natalia was not abused,” and describing the allegations as "just plain false."
She also referred to Natalia as a "sociopath," per the Daily Mail.
Michael Barnett, speaking on Good Morning America, reiterated claims that doctors who treated Natalia labeled her a "con artist."
Natalia was later adopted by the Mans family, who initially offered her a sense of stability. However, upcoming episodes of the documentary, set to air on January 6 and 7, suggest that her relationship with the Mans family is fraught with mistrust.
Natalia reportedly alleges further physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her new adoptive parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans.
