Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism whose followed folks declare she pretended to be a kid and terrorized their circle of relatives, advised an overly other tale in a sequence of interviews that aired this week.Â
“The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks,” which aired on Investigation Discovery, responded some lingering questions in regards to the peculiar case and stunned manufacturers with further uncertainties that can steered a follow-up collection.Â
“‘Natalia Speaks’ is a kind of initiatives the place the additional we dug in, the extra twists and turns we exposed,” Investigation Discovery President Jason Sarlanis advised The Hollywood Reporter, detailing last-minute traits in manufacturing.Â
“Our audience are so invested in Natalia’s case we felt our collection had to mirror the continuously transferring reality of her scenario. Something has all the time confirmed to be true with Natalia’s tale — not anything is ever what it sort of feels.”
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The six-episode collection is a follow-up to its counterpart, launched in Would possibly, which centered at the claims of adoptive folks Kristine and Michael Barnett.Â
Because of flooding on the Ukrainian health facility the place she used to be born, she has no start certificates to legally establish her age. Including to the confusion, FBI Particular Agent Kenneth J. Maxwell advised manufacturers, the pass judgement on who treated the woman’s adoption lawsuits used to be later terminated for corruption.Â
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Anna Gava, Natalia’s start mom, stated in interviews that she gave her daughter up for adoption because of her incapacity.Â
The Indiana couple followed Natalia in April 2010, believing she used to be a 6-year-old.Â
However after six months of alleged ordinary habits, the oldsters declare they started to suspect their daughter used to be an grownup girl scamming their circle of relatives. Natalia has a type of dwarfism known as spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, giving her a small body that left her true age a thriller with out clinical checking out.Â
In keeping with the sooner docuseries, Natalia hoarded knives, positioned thumbtacks dealing with upward so the circle of relatives would step on them unwittingly and, at one level, tried to poison her adoptive mom with Pine-Sol.Â
However in her most up-to-date interview, Natalia tried to transparent her title.
“In each and every lie is a hidden reality, however you’ve gotta dig sufficient in an effort to see it,” Natalia stated. “They’re no longer going to escape with this. That is my facet of the tale. Do I seem like a monster to you?”Â
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The Barnetts effectively petitioned a courtroom in Marion County to switch Natalia’s start yr from 2003 to 1989, making her legally 22.Â
They moved her into an rental in Lafayette, Indiana, in keeping with the documentary, and moved with their 3 organic sons to Canada. There, neighbors spotted that the brand new renter struggled with on a regular basis family duties and incessantly went hungry.Â
Despite the fact that she used to be legally an grownup, the Barnetts have been charged in 2019 with overlook of a dependent because of her incapacity.Â
The adoptive father used to be discovered no longer accountable by way of a jury in 2022, whilst the mum’s fees have been brushed aside this yr. Each folks defended themselves towards accusations towards them within the documentary, claiming Natalia used to be an grownup able to taking care of herself.Â
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Via a blood pattern by way of TruDiagnostic, a clinical lab that specialize in organic getting old, manufacturers of the collection decided Natalia is 22 years previous, disputing her prison age of 34.Â
In a conceivable clarification of the Barnetts’ motivation to switch Natalia’s age, documentarians assert the couple sought after to take advantage of the woman for cash. Their son Jacob impressed “The Spark,” Kristine Barnett’s e book about elevating her son with autism and his instructional achievements, which earned a $600,000 advance and had a pending film deal, in keeping with the documentary.Â
But if the woman used to be examined and located to be of moderate intelligence, prison skilled Beth Karas hypothesized within the collection that the couple plotted to have her got rid of from their house.Â
First, Karas posited, the Barnetts had the woman’s age modified legally. As a result of her genetic dysfunction rendered her a dependent for whom they might be legally accountable irrespective of age, they fabricated main points of her alleged sociopathic habits to position her in a jail or psychiatric facility.Â
Natalia used to be dedicated to Larue Carter, an Indiana psychological health facility, in June 2012, however the facility temporarily decided she wasn’t mentally volatile.Â
She used to be therefore despatched to a midway area, the place she known as her adoptive folks and advised them she used to be afraid to reside with drug addicts.Â
Michael Barnett advised manufacturers they took the woman again to steer clear of unfavourable appearances if the woman used to be harmed.
However Natalia, who faced her adoptive father within the final episode of the brand new collection, claims she used to be abused by way of the couple. She used to be pepper-sprayed 3 times, she stated, and Kristine as soon as gave her 3 times her prescribed dose of center medicine in an try to kill her.
Natalia additionally described how her adoptive mom pressured her to insert a tampon at 7 years previous. This brought about her to bleed, she claims, which Kristine later used as false proof she used to be menstruating.Â
However new main points from Natalia’s newest adoptive folks, Bishop Antwon Mans and his spouse Cynthia, raised extra questions.Â
The Mans circle of relatives has publicly defended Natalia on tv presentations like “Dr. Phil” or even stood by way of her when she faced her former adoptive father for the documentary.Â
However two weeks sooner than the collection used to be slated to air and 6 months when they officially followed her, the couple made a frantic name to manufacturers.
“One thing ain’t proper with Natalia,” Bishop Mans stated in an audio clip aired within the final 90 seconds of the collection. “This woman is tweakin’. I believe like she’s the enemy of the home. And she or he stated to us now we have held her hostage. … We are achieved, we are achieved together with her.”
“Natalia is stabbing her circle of relatives within the again over an entire lie,” Cynthia may also be heard announcing, backing up her husband’s claims.Â
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“Our collection used to be already completed and locked, however we in an instant mobilized with our manufacturers to be sure that this surprising building used to be incorporated in our finale,” Sarlanis advised The Hollywood Reporter of the twist. “We truly idea Natalia had discovered a cheerful finishing together with her new circle of relatives, so you’ll be able to consider we have been all completely stunned when that decision got here from the Mans.”
Now that it has aired reside, “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks” is to be had for streaming by way of HBO Max and Discovery +.