The Natalia Grace saga: Ukrainian adoptee accused of faking her age has a new family
Share:
The disabled Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism accused of masquerading as a child and trying to kill her adoptive parents spoke out for the first time last year. Now, she’s making new, harrowing claims about what happened next. Andrea Cavallier takes a look at the bizarre case.
![[Natalia Grace is revealing new, harrowing details about what happened next in her story]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/03/18/Screenshot-2025-01-03-at-1.03.50%E2%80%AFPM.jpg)
Natalia shared harrowing details of her childhood for the first time in an Investigation Discovery docuseries last year, which ended with her being welcomed into a new family, with parents Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans, a religious couple who later adopted her.
![[The Ukrainian orphan was adopted in 2010 but the couple claimed she was older than six]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/28/00/YPDF101_ARCHIVAL%20PHOTO%20-%20BLACK%20AND%20WHITE%20PHOTO%20OF%20NATALIA.JPG)
But the last two minutes of the second season of the docuseries Natalia Speaks hinted at trouble in paradise, and Natalia now says she suffered more years of alleged family torment. The Mans were supposed to be a happy ending for Natalia, who puts her own age at 21. But it turned out to be anything but, as seen in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, which premieres on January 6 and 7 on Investigation Discovery and Max.
![[Her adoptive mother alleged Natalia threatened to stab the family in their sleep]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/28/00/YPDF102_LL_102_RC_ARCHIVAL%20STILL_14.jpg)
What exactly has happened during Natalia’s life and who is telling the truth?. For years, Natalia Grace was accused by her adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett of “masquerading” as a child who they insisted was actually a murderous “sociopath” intent on killing their family.
![[In 2024, Natalia spoke out for the first time in ID’s docuseries Natalia Speaks, in which she comes face-to-face with her adoptive father in an explosive reunion]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/28/00/Screenshot%202023-12-27%20at%201.30.43%20PM.png)
The Ukrainian orphan was adopted in 2010 by the Barnetts who later petitioned a judge to change her legal age from eight to 22, after they cited chilling “evidence” that they alleged proved she was substantially older. When Natalia, who has a rare genetic disorder called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, was adopted, the couple were told she was six years old at the time.
![[Natalia Grace breaks down while speaking on the ID series]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/28/00/Screenshot%202023-12-27%20at%201.24.50%20PM.png)
