By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-26 07:42:01 | Updated at 2024-11-26 10:31:38
3 hours ago
Ukrainian dwarf Natalia Grace, who was thought by some to be an adult masquerading as a six-year-old child after being adopted by an American family, is being profiled once again as her newest parental figures turn on her.
Investigation Discovery's latest documentary 'The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter' dropped its first trailer after Natalia's second adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, abandoned her in 2012.
Natalia first came to the United States in 2008 and was placed with a couple who eventually turned her away for undisclosed reasons. In 2010, she was adopted by the Barnetts, who lived in Indiana.
Natalia was under the Barnetts' care for two years. But soon after she joined the family, the couple claimed Natalia was a 'sociopath' who threatened to kill them, stood over their beds with a knife at night, and tried to poison Kristine.
They began to doubt the birth certificate that claimed she was born in 2003, which would have made her six years old when they adopted her. That's because they said Natalia had developed pubic hair and had started getting her period.
The Barnetts, who have three biological sons, successfully convinced a court in 2012 to legally change her birth date to 1989, which made her 22 years old. Soon after, they moved hundreds of miles away and left her behind in an apartment they'd rented for her in Lafayette, Indiana.
Natalia's newest parents became a neighboring couple, Cynthia and Antwon Mans, who discovered that she was living alone and took her in.
They once vigorously defended her and described her as a 'genuine and loving young lady,' but the teaser put out by ID shows Antwon telling producers, among other things: 'Something ain't right with Natalia.'
Natalia Grace, pictured, will soon be back in the spotlight. She rose to prominence after her second adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, abandoned her because they claimed she was masquerading as an adult and violently threatening them
It appears her third adoptive parents, Cynthia and Antwon Mans, had a falling out with Natalia. The finale of the Investigation Discovery documentary series will cover how things soured
Antwon also seemed to suggest that Natalia may have a romantic interest.
'She's got this dude online,' he said. 'He turned her against us. She's ready to go to hell with gasoline panties on.'
This comes after the Mans family said they were done with Natalia in a previous documentary finale that aired in January.
These little tidbits mirror some of the allegations levied at Natalia by the Barnetts, who were actually brought up on charges in 2019 for abandoning and endangering a dependent.
'Natalia was a woman. She had periods. She had adult teeth. She never grew a single inch, which would happen even with a child with dwarfism. The doctors all confirmed she was suffering a severe psychological illness only diagnosed in adults,' Kristine Barnett insisted to DailyMail.com after she was charged.
A DNA test performed this year showed Natalia was close to 22 years old, making her under 10 years old when she was with the Barnetts.
Natalia has long maintained that she was just a kid when the Barnetts left her.
Despite this, Michael was acquitted in October 2022, and Kristine had her charges dropped three weeks before her trial in March 2023.
Michael and Kristine Barnett (seen) have claimed that Natalia was an adult 'con artist' posing as a six year old orphan, but she has maintained that she was a child the entire time
Antwon was the one who initially said he was done with Natalia, even though he let her live with his family for years
Now, the trailer would suggest Cynthia and Antwon Mans were in a similar situation to the one the Barnetts were once in.
Or perhaps not. The trailer also showed people raising concerns that the Mans family was abusing Natalia in some way.
'Cynthia and Antwon know how to silence people,' one woman said.
'Behind closed doors, they're monsters,' a man said.
'I kept telling her you need to go before you get killed,' another man said, appearing to refer to Natalia.
'The Mans are a cult,' another person claimed.
The Mans family initiated the adoption process of Natalia in 2016, which meant they would have to prove she was a minor and restore her original birth date.
The second season of the documentary revealed she was adopted by the Mans family in 2023.
This man claimed the Man family are monsters
This man said he told Natalia to leave the Mans family home 'before you get killed'
Natalia (seen with the Mans family) said she is saving up to get 'spine surgery,' adding that if she doesn't get the treatment soon she might become 'paralyzed'
But that appears to have been a temporary living situation for Natalia, who revealed she moved out in a GoFundMe she posted in January to raise money for spinal surgery.
'I recently moved out and I'm saving money to get my own house so I can have a personal place of my own,' she wrote. 'I am wanting to start my own photography business to create a fun and awesome way to have fun and do what I love which is taking pictures and creating memories for myself and other people!'
She also explained that the spinal surgery she wants to have done isn't covered by her medical insurance and costs 'in excess of $500,000.'
'I have a type of dwarfism called Diastrophic Dysplasia - a form of dwarfism that has many serious issues which often require surgery,' she wrote. 'The first treatment I need is to have my spine corrected as if I leave it too long it could lead to paralysis and incontinence.'
The final saga of Natalia's story will center on the falling out between her and the Mans family that caused her to move out in the first place.
'The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter' premieres in January 2025 on ID.
