An explosive, new documentary is to reveal the bizarre story of the Ukrainian dwarf Natalia Grace who is accused of terrorising her adoptive family. Michael and Kristine Barnett, from Indiana, US, invited Natalia into their home in 2010 when she was an orphan aged six.
But not long after her arrival in the US they began to suspect Natalia was actually an adult dwarf.
The couple, who have since separated, were both recently acquitted of neglect charges after they were accused of abandoning Natalia by leaving her in an apartment when they moved to Canada.
They claim Natalia is an imposter who tricked her way into their family, threatened to stab them as they slept and poison their coffee.
Family members share their side of the harrowing story in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which is due to be aired on Investigation Discovery on Monday.
But signs began to emerge that Natalia could be older than the family believed, including after a trip to Disneyland when Kristine was bathing her.
Michael describes how his then-wife let out a blood-curdling scream as she saw that the girl she believed was a toddler had “full pubic hair”.
The couple allege that in the months afterwards things escalated, accusing Natalia of concealing her period from them.
As time passed, Mr Barnett claims that it became more apparent the family was living with a menace.
He accuses his adopted child of trying to poison and kill Kristine, adding: “One night I opened my eyes and Natalia is standing at the foot of the bed with a knife in her hand.”
The documentary also includes footage of Natalia sitting at a table reading the Bible and explaining that she chose to read it “to get rid of these evil thoughts”.
Mr Barnett goes on to describe his shock when a child psychologist tells him months later that Natalia was a sociopath.
Kristina’s son Jake says in the documentary: “My mom firmly believed Natalia was a hostile agent and is not who she said she is.”
Michael says the family left Natalia in Indiana and moved to Canada to support his son at college, but some of the family’s critics claim they just wanted to rid themselves of Natalia.
The move led the authorities to charge the couple with child neglect even though they insisted Natalia was an adult woman.
In 2012 a petition launched by the family at probate court was granted and a judge legally changed Natalia’s birth date from 2003 to 1989.
Despite the dropping of the child neglect allegations against the Barnetts, due to that legal age change, more neglect charges remained due to Natalia’s dwarfism, which made her dependent on the Barnetts.
Michael was acquitted in October 2022 while Kristine’s case was dismissed in March three weeks before her trial date.
But Anna Gava, Natalia’s biological mother, has maintained her daughter was born in September 2003.
Dwayne and Robyn Farris were close to adopting Natalia before she was taken in by the Barnetts.
They said they were suspicious of the circumstances around Natalia’s migration to the US, but insisted they never harboured any suspicions Natalia was older than had been advertised.
In a 2019 episode of Dr Phil, Natalia denied being an adult and broke down as she insisted she never conned the Barnetts.
She appeared beside her new parents Cynthia and Anton Mans who described her as a “genuine loving girl”.
