A mom and couple with three children were charged with ignoring their adoptive daughter, who was supposedly a 22-year-old psychopath claiming to be nine.
Kristine Barnett, 45, and her ex-husband Michael Barnett, 43, reportedly left Ukrainian-born Natalia Grace at an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana in 2013 before moving to Canada.
Natalia Grace’s birth certificate said that she was born on September 4, 2003, but Marion County Superior Court in Indianapolis decided in 2012 that she was born in 1989, making her 22 years old at the time.
Despite these results, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department tells a drastically different tale than Kristina Barnett.
Natalia Grace was tested for bone density in June 2010 by a specialist at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, who determined she was about 8 years old.
According to investigators, the youngster, who has a rare form of dwarfism that causes her to be 91cm tall, was left to fend for herself for three years. Her bone development disease results in low height, skeletal deformities, and eyesight issues.
Kristine Barnett discloses a fundamental flaw in their argument in an exclusive interview.
Natalia Grace threatened to knife them in their sleep, dragged her towards an electric fence, and poured bleach in her coffee for years, according to Barnett.
She would make remarks and draw images claiming she intended to kill family members, wrap them in a blanket, and throw them in the backyard, Barnett explained.
In the middle of the night, she was standing over everyone. One couldn’t sleep. They had to conceal all of the sharp things.
She noticed Natalia pouring chemicals, bleach, Windex, or something similar, in Kristine’s coffee and asked her, ‘What are you doing? I’m trying to poison you,’ she said.
The media portrays her as a child abuser, yet there is no child here, the mom of three explained.
Natalia was a lady. She had menstrual cycles. She possessed adult teeth. She never grew one inch, as would be expected of a youngster with dwarfism.
All of the experts agreed she had a serious psychiatric disorder that could only be diagnosed in grown ups.
She was leaping from moving automobiles. She was putting blood all over the mirrors. She was doing things that a small kid would never do.
Kristine Barnett claims she nurtured the Ukrainian-born daughter “as if she were her own kid” when she adopted Natalia Grace in 2010.
Despite being given only 24 hours to complete an emergency adoption and knowing very little about Natalia Grace’s past, Barnett says in an interview that she had no reservations about embracing the 6-year-old at the time.
Natalia Grace was born in Ukraine and had lived in the United States for two years. The kid required a last-minute adoption since her former adoptive parents abruptly abandoned her for unclear reasons.
When the Barnetts brought in Natalia Grace, the parents were concerned when they saw her naked for the first time.
Krisitne was bathing her when she discovered she had full pubic hair. She was stunned. She just was informed she was a 6-year-old, but it was clear she wasn’t, according to Barnett.
Other red flags led the Barnetts to question Natalia Grace’s true identity, such as her lack of a foreign accent and her inability to communicate or explain her birthplace.
Since she has such a distinct appearance, determining her age is difficult. But at the time, Kristine began to suspect she was a teenager, the mom continued.
There were no regrets for her. This was exactly what she wanted to accomplish and was overcome with affection for her.
Natalia Grace was sent to the family physician, who performed density tests to determine her age.
Because the findings suggested that the small girl was at least 14 years old, Barnett attempted to change her clothes to something more acceptable for the kid’s age.
As concerns started to arise surrounding the genuine age and origin of Natalia Grace, her conduct started to spin out of control.
Natalia Grace was “smearing body fluid on walls, making murder threats, and hearing voices as her mental health fell down,” according to Barnett, by 2011.
The little child spent the following year receiving treatment for different psychiatric problems, including stints at the St Vincent Indianapolis Stress Center.
Natalia Grace, according to Barnett, tried to “pull her on to an electrified fence during a 2012 birthday outing,” so she was placed in a long-term mental hospital as a risk to others.
According to Barnett, it was during treatment that the girl eventually admitted to being much older than she claimed.
The mother apparently produced a wealth of papers that validates her account of events and health care professionals back up her fears.
The most damning piece of documentation is a 2012 letter from Natalia Grace’s care physician stating that Natalia Grace’s 2003 birth date was incorrect and that the girl had built a profession out of faking to be a young child. Natalia Grace, he said, duped him, her parents, and other doctors.
Following the assessment, the Barnetts successfully petitioned Marion County Superior Court in Indianapolis to rectify Natalia Grace’s age so she could obtain the essential health treatment she required as an adult in her situation.
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Posted by Ceda Banks on Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Because the state considered Natalia Grace to be an adult, the Barnetts rented an apartment for her when she was freed from mental treatment and placed under the supervision of state healthcare.
The 22-year-old caused difficulties in the property and was evicted, so the Barnetts stepped in again, renting her a new apartment to save her from becoming homeless.
She said she has been taking care of her here as an adult, and would do one more year of financial assistance, just like she did for all of her kids, Kristina Barnett said in an interview.
She co-signed the lease and paid the rent in advance for a year. She did everything a parent would do when their kid leaves for college: she assisted her with groceries and purchased her furnishings at Target.
The Barnett family went to Canada the next year without Natalia Grace, who had disappeared and cut all contact with her adoptive parents.
She never abandoned anyone. She traveled to Canada in order to better her son’s education. These allegations are really catastrophic, Barnett expressed.
According to an affidavit of probable cause acquired, Natalia Grace went to the police herself, claiming that she had been abandoned while her adoptive parents relocated to Canada.
In the final chapter of their tumultuous relationship, which was settled in 2016 at the Tippecanoe Circuit Court, a couple suddenly petitioned to become Natalia Grace’s guardians, which included showing she was a minor and restoring her original birth date.
Natalia was living on her own when a couple approached her about becoming her guardians. The couple attempted to reverse the 2012 outcome, believing she was still a minor, Michael Barnett’s lawyer stated.
Natalia Grace’s identification was affirmed by the judge, and the couple discontinued their guardianship request.
While Kristine and Michael Barnett fight to prove their innocence, the state of Indiana has accused them both with crimes against a kid.
Kristine Barnett surrendered on September 19th and was freed after posting a $55,000 bail.
On September 18th, ex-husband Michael Barnett surrendered to the Tippecanoe County Jail in Lafayette and was quickly freed after paying his US$5000 bond.
