Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted a little girl. Then they claimed she was plotting to kill them.

In 2010, American couple Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Ukrainian-born Natalia Grace, who at the time was six years old, according to her legal documentation.

She was an orphan who had arrived in the United States two years earlier, and had lived with several foster families.

Grace was initially welcomed into the family home and lived with the Barnetts and their three sons.

However, things took a turn just two years later.

Watch: The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace trailer. Post continues below.

Over time, the Barnetts had become suspicious of Natalia's age. In 2012, they asked Marion County Probate Court to officially change her age from eight to 22. This moved her birth year back from 2003 to 1989.

Following this petition, they moved Natalia into her own apartment in Indiana and relocated to Canada with their three sons. In the process, they cut all ties with Grace.

However, years later, in 2019, prosecutors levelled charges against the Barnetts for neglecting a dependant, resulting in a lengthy five-year investigation.

Natalia Grace. Image: Investigation Discovery.

As the investigation reached the news, the Barnetts did several media interviews talking about why they thought Grace, who has a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, was an adult posing as a child.

This included their claims that Grace had pubic hair, adult teeth and had begun menstruation.

The couple also believed that she had malicious intentions and that, because of her, their family was in danger.

Over the two-year period in which Grace lived with the Barnetts, they claim she had attempted to poison Kristine's coffee, drag her towards an electric fence and would place thumbtacks face-up on the stairs, hoping she would step on them.

Michael, who is no longer married to Kristine, having divorced in 2018, spoke about the torment Grace allegedly inflicted on them in a three-part docuseries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.

“She threatened to stab my sons, drag their bodies outside and bury them underneath the deck,” he said. “I promise you, within five years, someone is dead.”

Over the years, the Barnetts have called Grace a “con artist” and a “sociopath”.

"It’s obvious that her records were falsified. This is an adult masquerading as a child," Michael said on Dr Oz’s True Crime show back in 2019.

"We took her to the stress centre to have her evaluated that she is having thoughts of harming others, and she is stating out loud that she is attempting to kill Kristine."

Despite their claims, Grace maintains she was a child when the Barnetts adopted her.

Natalia Grace has always maintained her innocence, and spoke out for the first time in her docuseries. Image: Investigation Discovery.

Last year, Natalia Grace shared her side of the story in season two of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks — where she confronted the accusations head-on.

In 2013, shortly after being moved into the Indiana apartment, Grace met the Mans — Cynthia, Antwon and their children. They invited her to be a part of their family.

The Mans family remained by Grace’s side throughout her legal troubles and appeared on Dr. Phil in 2019 to reaffirm that she was a minor and did not have any of the violent tendencies the Barnetts had attested to.

“We have other children. We have a grandson. [Natalia] does nothing but love her siblings and her nephew,” Cynthia told Dr. Phil.

Cynthia also testified on Grace’s behalf in 2022 at Michael Barnett’s trial.

However, the allegations against the Barnetts didn't stick, and Michael was found not guilty in October 2022. Kristine's charges were dropped in March 2023.

Natalia Grace. Image: Investigation Discovery.

Despite the hostility, Grace has always spoken positively about her time with the Barnetts, telling Dr. Phil that during her stay with the family, she felt loved and accepted.

At Michael’s trial in October 2022, Grace testified that if it had been up to her, she would have continued living with the Barnetts.

However, she also acknowledged that the former couple made several false allegations against her.

The docuseries sees her confront her adoptive father. Image: iD.

"The things that Kristine and Michael have said that I have done is a lie. I have never done anything that Kristine and Michael have said that I have done," she said.

|You can ask anybody in my family now. You can ask Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans that — just ask them, ‘Has she ever done anything?’ They will tell you who I really am. They’re not going to lie and neither am I."

In the series, Grace confronts Michael, and questions him about why they adopted her in the first place, to which he responds: "I’ve learned recently that you and I had the same monster [in] Kristine, and we are here because we both were incredible victims of an otherworldly type of abuse."

Where is Natalia Grace now?

Life with the Mans family was meant to be a happy one for Grace. The docuseries team thought they had wrapped up the story when they received a phone call from Antwon Mans.

"We got a situation. Something ain't right with Natalia," Antwon said, per producer Shannon Evangelista to the Hollywood Reporter.

"Something ain't right with Natalia. This girl is tweaking," he continued.

Cynthia then chimed in, saying, "Natalia is stabbing her family in the back, over a complete lie!"

Antwon added, "She's done other things too, but this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself."

"We're done. We're done with her."

The producers decided they had to act and picked up their cameras to follow the story. And so, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter was born.

Watch the trailer for The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter. Post continues below.

The 2025 series alleges Grace was subjected to physical and financial abuse while in the couple's care.

Grace never outright confirmed or denied the claims. However, she did escape from the home in the middle of the night, as shown in the series.

The elaborate plan was orchestrated with the help of her boyfriend Neil, whom she met online, and friends Nicole and Vince DePaul, a couple with dwarfism who previously tried to adopt Natalia in 2009.

In late 2023, Nicole and her daughter Mackenzie drove from their home in upstate New York to secretly pick up Grace from a church in Nashville.

Natalia's story continues in the final series of the documentary. Image: ID.

Since then, Grace has lived with the DePauls and has found stability and love.

"At first it was bumpy because the Mans were still involved. They were calling Natalia constantly and trying to wheel her back in," Nicole told People in January 2025.

While the past two years of living together haven't been without ups and downs, Nicole said Grace has never been violent.

"Our dogs love her and they sleep with her," she told the publication.

"I'm an animal lover. If I didn't trust her, I wouldn't leave my babies with her. They're also a judge of character, as well."

"We're trying to guide Natalia, not control her. She's super sweet. She wouldn't hurt a fly," Vince added.

Today, Grace is studying for her GED, learning to drive and preparing to live independently.

She hopes to become a teacher and one day have a family of her own.

"I'm a girl who loves kids and wants to get married and have children," she told People.

"But one of my biggest things is not making promises I can't keep. I've had too many promises that have been broken. I'm just ready to move on."

This story was first published in January 2024 and has been updated.

Feature Image: Investigation Discovery/CBS.

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