When Kristine and Michael Barnett adopted a young girl from Ukraine, they believed that she was only 6 years old.
But the family later claimed that the orphan named Natalia Grace Barnett was a ‘sociopathic’ adult who wanted to harm them and their children.
In a new documentary The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, it was detailed how a judge came to the conclusion that she was actually 22 years old.
The bizarre story started in 2010 when the couple from Indiana adopted 6-year-old Natalia from Ukraine.
Michael and Kristine allege that Natalia, who has a rare bone-growth disorder, ‘masqueraded as a child with intent to harm them’ after moving into their home.
The former couple were recently acquitted of neglect charges after leaving Natalia to live alone in an apartment.
However, they claimed that she was already 22 when they left her.
Michael has also spoken out about the shocking signs that he claims prove Natalia was not a child like she insists.
In the first episode of the docuseries, Michael speaks of how he and his wife noticed the signs within the first months of the adoption.
“Kristine’s going to give our brand new daughter a bath, and I hear a shout from the bathroom.,” Michael recalled. “This was a, ‘I’m not playing around, come here right now, Michael’ shout.”
Michael says he entered the bathroom and saw his wife completely stunned after seeing Natalia’s body.
Michael explains that when he looked down, the child ‘had full pubic hair.’
“And I don’t know what you think. Is that possible? Is that even possible? Who the f**k is this person?” he adds.
The father then recalls how his wife found a pair of Natalia’s underwear, with a home video showing them asking her to explain.
“I can remember her physical-ness at the time, her hands were just out in front of her like this, and she’s like, ‘Well, I have a period, and I’ve been hiding it.’”
During the docu-series, legal expert Beth Karas explains: “The judge had a petition prepared by an attorney that would lay out the arguments for why this person is not the age they believe she is – she is actually an adult.
“Nobody knows quite what age, but she has not grown in four years, so the judge came up with his own little formula. ‘Well, you stop growing at 18, if she hasn’t grown in four years then she’s at least 18 when she entered their lives. And I’m gonna add four years’. He said, ‘Okay, I find you 22.’”
After the judge’s decision, Natalia was given a new date of birth of September 4, 1989, and was given a new birth certificate.
But Beth said that the age change does not ‘make sense.’
“It does happen in international adoptions,” she said. “A couple of years might be shaved off the age of the child because it’s more attractive to adoptive families, the younger the child is. At least, that’s the belief.
“So, all I can buy are a couple of years, right? Like, she’s not really eight, she’s 10 or 11 or something. But to jump 14 years to 22? It doesn’t make sense.”
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