Current:Home > ContactNatalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist -WealthX
Natalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist
View
Date:2025-04-19 17:05:58
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! (7182)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Mississippi Democrats name Pinkins as new nominee for secretary of state, to challenge GOP’s Watson
- Bear that killed woman weeks ago shot during recent break in
- ‘That ‘70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson could get decades in prison at sentencing for 2 rapes
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Tennis finally allowing player-coach interactions during matches win for players and fans
- French President Macron: ‘There can’t, obviously, be a Russian flag at the Paris Games’
- Dozens of migrants rescued off Greek island of Lesbos. Search is under way for woman feared missing
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Top workplaces: Here's your chance to be deemed one of the top workplaces in the U.S.
Ranking
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Louisville officer critically hurt during a traffic stop when shots were fired from a nearby home
- Disney+ deal: Stream service $1.99 monthly for 3 months. Watch 'Ashoka,' 'Little Mermaid' and more
- Mississippi Rep. Nick Bain concedes loss to gun shop owner Brad Mattox in Republican primary runoff
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- First day of school jitters: Influx of migrant children tests preparedness of NYC schools
- Wealthy Russian with Kremlin ties gets 9 years in prison for hacking and insider trading scheme
- Boogaloo member Stephen Parshall sentenced for plot to blow up substation near BLM protest
Recommendation
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
Kosovo’s president says investigators are dragging their feet over attacks on NATO peacekeepers
Boogaloo member Stephen Parshall sentenced for plot to blow up substation near BLM protest
Catholic-Jewish research substantiates reports that Catholic convents sheltered Jews during WWII
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Hurricane Lee charges through open Atlantic waters as it approaches northeast Caribbean
Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen to headline Stagecoach 2024
New Rules Help to Answer Whether Clean Energy Jobs Will Also Be Good Jobs