The curious case of Natalia Grace just got curiouser and curiouser.
New developments in the odd tale of the Ukrainian orphan who had been adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett, who alleged she was older than presumed, as well as being a danger to them, showed an entirely different side.
The Barnetts notably made a series of allegations against Natalia, with the most infamous accusation that the orphan was not a six-year-old child when they adopted her in 2010, but a grown adult with sociopathic tendencies and dwarfism who was posing as a kid.
A follow-up to The Curious Case of Natalia Grace docuseries may debunk Natalia Grace's false age claims
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
After years of mediatized claims against Natalia, which were further unveiled in the Investigation Discovery documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, a follow-up segment may now completely debunk the allegations that in 2012, she was a 22-year-old woman.
In the follow-up to the original docuseries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, Natalia is seen visiting Dr. Halland Chen, an age specialist from TruDiagnostics, for answers.
Halland and his team can find someone’s chronological age through a series of tests, a process sometimes used for insurance purposes, as it claims to help predict when someone will die, as per Tyla.
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
In a clip, Natalia is filmed tearing up as Halland tells her: “Based off of all the studies and everything being analyzed, you’re more closer to 22. Which is pretty close to what you think, [that] you’re almost 20 – that's within 2 years.”
To this, Natalia replies: “This is so big. This has literally been 13 years of just two people lying their butts off, they painted me as some big monster when they were the ones.”
Provided that Halland’s conclusions are accurate, that would mean that Natalia was four when she came to the USA from Ukraine, before being adopted by the Barnetts.
Michael and Kristine Barnett alleged Natalia was older than presumed when they adopted her
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
She would have subsequently been adopted when she was seven, and then eight when her adoptive parents filed an age change petition against her.
The adoptive family had accused Natalia of trying to harm them and had cited “evidence” which they alleged proved she was older than six years old.
Michael and Kristine went on to legally change Natalia's age to make her 22 years old and took her to an apartment to live by herself while they moved to Canada, at which point she is believed now to have been just nine years old.
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
The couple was ultimately charged with neglect of a dependent, but Michael was found not guilty, and the charges against Kristine were dropped.
In the follow-up segment, a clip of Natalia shows her admitting that she used to tell people she was 22 years old because Kristine allegedly “trained her to lie”, the new results would mean that she would’ve been trained to say she was in her twenties when in reality, she was just a child.
Natalia described the changing of her age as the “worst” thing the Barnetts ever did to her, adding that she “trusted [the family] too fast”, as per Unilad. She said: “They ruined a kid’s life.”
In addition to Halland’s examination, Natalia also returned to the dentist's office where she underwent an x-ray while she was living with the family.
New analysis conducted by experts revealed that Natalia is currently around 22 years old
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
The unfortunate orphan recalled losing a tooth during her time with the Barnetts - a common occurrence for children between the ages of 6-12 - but she claimed Kristina accused her of pulling the tooth out herself.
In the follow-up series, a dentist takes a look at Natalia's x-ray from more than a decade ago, highlighting that what it showed was “indisputable” evidence because it clearly showed adult teeth growing in the gums underneath Natalia's baby teeth.
The dentist was filmed saying: "You can’t fake teeth coming in like this," before further explaining that Natalia would have been around eight or nine years old when the x-ray was taken in 2011.
In the docuseries, Natalia said: “I always knew I wasn’t an adult. They are hiding something big, I wanna know the answers to these questions and I want people to pay for what they’ve done.”
You can watch the trailer for the follow-up to the docuseries below:
Image credits: Investigation Discovery
In 2010, Kristine and Michael seemingly saw their entire life flipped upside down when their beloved six-year-old adopted daughter was believed to have an entirely secret identity, baffling psychologists, doctors, and lawyers all over the world.
Kristine and Michael had adopted who they thought was little Natalia Grace from Ukraine, before allegedly noticing that their daughter had some strange behavior.
The couple believed that not only did Natalia have a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, but that she also had “periods, adult teeth, and pubic hair”.
The Barnetts alleged that the straw that broke the camel’s back for them was the time Natalia allegedly threatened them with a knife and said she was “gonna kill everybody”.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks premieres on Investigation Discovery on 1 January 2024.
Many viewers "didn't believe the awful adoptive parents for one second"
