Current:Home > InvestNatalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist -Capitatum
Natalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-06 13:55:30
The mystery surrounding Natalia Grace continues.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks—which explored accusations lodged against the Ukrainian orphan by her adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett—ended on Jan. 3 in a major plot twist, with her new family also alleging to seeing troubling behavior.
Though Natalia was initially taken in by Antwon and Cynthia Mans after the Barnetts severed ties with her, the couple revealed in the final moments of the ID docuseries that they, too, were "done with her."
"Something ain't right with Natalia. This girl is tweaking," Antwon told producers in a phone call. "I feel like she's the enemy in the house. And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we're the enemy."
Meanwhile, Cynthia accused Natalia of "stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie."
"She's done other things too, but this was a new low," Antwon added. "Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We're done."
E! News has not been able to obtain Natalia's contact information for comment.
Natalia—who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare form of dwarfism—was first adopted by the Barnetts in 2010. At the time, the Barnetts said they believed she was 6 years old.
The pair grew suspicious of Natalia's age as time went on, alleging that she was actually an adult with intentions to hurt their family. In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned a court to change Natalia's birth year from 2003 to 1989, before moving to Canada with their three sons the following year and leaving Natalia in the United States.
Michael and Kristine, who finalized their divorce in 2018, were subsequently brought up on neglect charges in connection to their move. However, Michael was found not guilty on his charges in 2022 and prosecutors dropped their case against Kristine in March 2023.
On The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, a DNA test conducted by a medical lab concluded Natalia was around 22 years old as of August 2023, indicating that she would've been approximately 9 years old when she moved in with the Barnetts.
"This one little piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts has said right into the trash with a match," Natalia said after receiving the lab results. "They ignored everything that was pointing to the truth just so they could create this stupid lie."
When she confronted her estranged father, Michael offered a tearful apology, which Natalia accepted.
"I forgive you," she told him, prompting Michael to tell her, "You don't have to."
He added, "I don't forgive me."
For her part, Kristine has denied allegations of mistreatment and abandonment brought up in the docuseries.
"She was not abused by anyone in my family," Kristine wrote, in part, on Facebook Jan. 3. "Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting. If anything it was overly permissive as we all felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Natalia and loved her while she lived with us."
For more true crime updates on your need-to-know cases, head to Oxygen.com.veryGood! (81231)
Related
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Massachusetts police lieutenant charged with raping child over past year
- Michigan Supreme Court rejects bid to keep Trump off 2024 primary ballot
- Directors pick the soundtracks for NPR's shows. Here are their own 2023 playlists
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- How a construction worker impaled on the job was saved by EMS workers
- Experts share which social media health trends to leave behind in 2023 — and which are worth carrying into 2024
- 'Pretty Baby' chronicles Brooke Shields' career and the sexualization of young girls
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- 2 models of Apple Watch can go on sale again, for now, after court lifts halt over a patent dispute
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- A lifestyle and enduring relationship with horses lends to the popularity of rodeo in Indian Country
- Editing Reality (2023)
- Magnitude 3.8 earthquake shakes part of eastern Arkansas
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Florida teen fatally shoots sister after argument over Christmas presents, sheriff says
- TikToker Mikayla Nogueira Addresses Claim She Lost 30 Lbs. on Ozempic
- When will you die? Meet the 'doom calculator,' an artificial intelligence algorithm
Recommendation
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Nick and Aaron Carter’s Late Sister Bobbie Jean Carter Was Found Unresponsive in Bathroom
Amazon to show ads in Prime Video movies and shows starting January 29, 2024
Neighboring New Jersey towns will have brothers as mayors next year
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Utah Couple Dies in Car Crash While Driving to Share Pregnancy News With Family
'The Golden Bachelor’ wedding: How to watch Gerry and Theresa's big day
Taylor Swift fan died of heat exhaustion during Rio concert, officials report