Natalia Grace Confronts Adoptive Father in ID Docuseries

Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace’ is back for a second season, this time with a very important voice: Natalia herself. It all started in 2010 when an American couple, Michael and Kristine Barnett, adopted a child with dwarfism from Ukraine. They say they soon began to suspect that she wasn’t a child at all. They came to believe she was actually an adult and was trying to harm the family. Inside Edition Digital’s Mara Montalbano has more.

[ToraTheMugwump]

Incase anyone is wondering, genetic testing confirmed that Natalia Grace is the age she always said she was. She is now 22 but her legal age is still 34. These parents deserve to be in prison

[AL]

The judge should be sued and the parents. Allowing an 8year old to live alone in an apartment is damn sad!

[Melinda-fl]

Even if she was an adult, she was severely disabled and dumped in a bad part of town in an apartment that wasnt suitable for her. Her abusers were in control of her money. They continued to abuse her after abandoning her.

[nicolestandley]

To me this story was never confusing except to say I don’t know why soooo many people bought the Barnett’s bogus story. She was obviously a child, and a handicapped child at that. How am I to believe you felt threatened by a handicapped child!

[OpEditorial]

This probably goes without saying that while adoption is seen as a noble and compassionate gesture, treating a human like a rescue animal is a sure-fire way of needlessly complicating your life.

[mcreena]

I see some commenters saying "Well, she's still a psychopath, her new adoptive family doesn't want her either." Yeah, if I was a 7 year old who was treated constantly like I was a monster and _abandoned_, I'd probably have issues too. And if these issues were present since childhood, _it was her adoptive parents responsibility to get her help_ . Not to claim she's an adult and abandon their responsibility as parents. The system, and these monsters who adopted her, failed her. She's an adult now with so many issues because those who were tasked with protecting and helping her abandoned her.

For those wondering, it was confirmed through genetic testing that she WAS a child when they adopted her. And yes, she now has to take accountability for her own actions since she is an adult. But you cannot put the onus solely on her shoulders. She was never given a chance to get better or get help. She was accused and ostracized at age 8. What 8 year old can deal with that properly on their own?

[Starkardur]

I'm just really surprised how and why so many weird people get to adopt children.

[redheadredemption]

At age 9 and disabled they dumped her into a crappy apartment in an area with high crime after turning the world against her. And this kind of treatment of her continues until a docu series and a DNA test 12 years later. I hope this strong young woman gets justice and can live the life she deserves from here on out.

[Calderon]

When you look at her in the pictures you can tell she was young if she was an adult then she would look like she does now

[Iamrightyouarewrong]

no matter how you look at it, she is person with a disability that was taken advantage of.

[shannonsolomon]

What I don’t understand is that they kept dwelling on the fact that, and please excuse my language, that she had pubic hair and had a period early. And I know from experience, even though my child does not have dwarfism, she has problems with her endocrine system and developed early and got her period at 8. Usually girls that have problems with the endocrine system get their periods early and start to develop earlier. The child can’t help what happens naturally during development. And for them to blame that on her was really crappy.

[LASTSOCIAL]

These demons should be underneath the jail for the abuse they subjected this young lady to. They claimed she was an adult and a sociopath as a way to detract from their abuse. Sick as hell!

[chelisue]

I’m not confused at all about Natalia. She was a child who was horribly abused by the Barnetts and is still being abused by them. Just not physically. The barnetts belong in prison.

[adriancampos]

What an exciting time in true crime, Natalia Grace and Gypsy Rose surviving and telling their stories of parental abuse and lies! Set the truth free

[sadiebrownlee]

You can tell she's a kid from the pictures

[micalah]

I actually just recently saw her face on something and my heart cried out for the little girl who just needed a family. They were horrible to her. Shame on them.

[RacieRain]

She was a child. She was abused and treated horribly. Now she's old enough to tell her story. I was outraged and the adoptive parents need to be behind bars and that judge needs to be removed.

[redcapsue]

I'm sure she's difficult and hard to live with at this point. I don't blame her. The world has given her nothing but pain. She has a right to defend herself as best she can. She'll probably never be normal.

[plurplursen]

She forgave Micheal for what he did. Imagine having so much strength and dignity as Natalia. She deserves justice, and so much more.

[jae]

I hope she makes enough from this to give her comfortable life.