Current:Home > MyNatalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist -SecurePath Capital
Natalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist
View
Date:2025-04-18 18:32:08
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! (7)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Busy Philipps gushes on LGBTQ+ parenting, praises pal Sophia Bush coming out
- Sofía Vergara Reveals She Gets Botox and Her Future Plastic Surgery Plans
- A year after Titan sub implosion, an Ohio billionaire says he wants to make his own voyage to Titanic wreckage
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Chicago man who served 12 years for murder wants life back. Key witness in case was blind.
- State trial underway for man sentenced to 30 years in attack against Nancy Pelosi’s husband
- 3 shot to death in South Dakota town; former mayor, ex-law enforcement officer charged
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Massachusetts man known as 'Bad Breath Rapist' found in California after years on the run
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Sofía Vergara Reveals She Gets Botox and Her Future Plastic Surgery Plans
- Building explosion kills bank employee and injures 7 others in Youngstown, Ohio
- F-35 fighter jet worth $135M crashes near Albuquerque International Sunport, pilot injured
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- 'A Family Affair' trailer teases Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman's steamy romance
- Charges against world’s top golfer Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship
- New Orleans mystery: Human skull padlocked to a dumbbell is pulled out of water by a fisherman
Recommendation
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
SEC moving toward adopting injury reports for football games. Coaches weigh in on change
Iga Swiatek saves a match point and comes back to beat Naomi Osaka at the French Open
Iran has even more uranium a quick step from weapons-grade, U.N. says
See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
Major leaguers praise inclusion of Negro Leagues statistics into major league records
Your 401(k) match is billed as free money, but high-income workers may be getting an unfair share
Taylor Swift fans wait in 90-degree temperatures for doors to open in Madrid