The Curious Case of Natalia Grace series on Investigation Discovery presented a true crime story that seemed too bizarre to be believed, a real life case of The Orphan. The case caused an intense controversy, as many wondered could an adult really pass themselves off as a child, and if she did, where is she now?
It’s a nightmare family scenario: Natalia Grace’s parents, the Barnetts, claimed when they adopted a young orphan from Ukraine, they actually brought in a criminal. The parents claimed Natalia Grace wreaked havoc on their home and family before they finally discovered she was not who she claimed to be. Instead of a young girl, they alleged Natalia Grace was a grown woman. They even took her to court to have her legal age changed. For her part, Natalia Grace refutes the claim.
So what is the truth? Was Natalia already an adult when she was adopted, or was she truly a child? Here is everything you need to know about the Curious Case of Natalia Grace, and where she is now.
How old is Natalia Grace?
It may seem an easy question to answer, a simple task to determine someone’s true age. In the case of Natalia Grace, it’s a little more complicated.
Kristine and Michael Barnett were a Florida couple looking to expand their family. When they heard the story of a six year old Ukranian girl with dwarfism in need of a home, they jumped at the opportunity. Yet they began to suspect she was older than they had been led to believe. The difficulty in determining her true age, lay in Natalia’s unique type of dwarfism. Normal bone and teeth testing would prove inconclusive due to this.
The Barnett’s claimed Natalia was 22 years old, 16 years older than they had been told. They went to court to have her birth certificate changed, which was granted. After that, they rented Natalia her own apartment and removed her from their home. Yet to her neighbors, Natalia still looked and acted in many ways like a child. The Barnetts moved her to a new apartment in a different city, where she had difficulty on the stairs due to her disability. A report to social services was filed, and in 2019, the Barnetts found themselves facing charges of neglect, not due to Natalia’s age, but due to her being considered a dependent due to her dwarfism. The Barnetts, by now divorced, were not convicted. Yet Natalia’s age still remained a mystery.
According to Entertainment Tonight, a Ukranian woman Anna Volodymyrivna Gava was located who claimed to be Natalia’s birth mother. She refuted the Barnetts’ claims, providing a birth certificate that verified Natalia’s claimed age at the time of her adoption. That would make her six years old when the Barnett’s had her age changed to 22. While Natalia’s age still remains in dispute, if the birth certificate is correct, she would be 20 years old currently, whereas if the Barnetts’ changed age is correct, she would be 36.
Where is Natalia Grace now?
Natalia was taken in by a neighbor family, the Mans, in her Indiana town in 2014. The couple had seen her around town and struggling to climb the steep steps to her apartment. They decided to help and took her into their home where she remained for several years. The Mans did not report any of the behaviors the Barnett’s did, in fact they claimed they had no problems with her whatsoever. The family helped her to tell her side of the story, which led her to the Dr. Phil Show in 2019. Natalia Grace claimed the Barnetts had lied about her age and had abandoned her when she was just a child.
The Investigation Discovery documentary revealed Natalia’s side of the story, and the odd backstory behind the Barnetts, their marriage, and their potential abuse of Natalia when she was in their home. Their claims around Natalia began to unravel, and it seemed their sensational story that appeared to bizarre to be true, might not have been true after all.
Natalia has not done any further public interviews since the Dr. Phil Show, or the documentary, but is reported to still live in Indiana, and continues to be close with the Mans.
Many viewers finished the documentary more unsure than when they began it, and with Natalia’s Dr. Phil tell all, even more fuel was added to the confusion fire. The Case of Natalia Grace is certainly an unusual one, that leaves many lingering questions. Is Natalia really an adult woman with criminal intent or are the Barnett’s the true monsters? Due to Natalia’s specific type of dwarfism the truth might never be fully revealed.
