A family has spoken for the first time over 'abuse' at the hands of their adopted daughter who they say “masqueraded as a child with intent to harm them.”
Michael Barnett broken down in tears in a new documentary, stating his family endured years of abuse from Natalia Grace Barnett, who they believed was a six-year-old at the time of her adoption in 2010.
Natalia Grace, who has a rare form of Dwarfism called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita, has previously denied these claims
Mr Barnett, and his then-wife, Kristine Barnett, believed Natalia was a six-year-old child but said they later found out she wasn't a young girl after all.
The family, from Indiana, also claim Natalia began to exhibit terrifying and violent behaviour.
“We were all abused,” Mr Barnett cries in the Investigation Discovery documentary 'The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace.'
“I hate this.”
The Barnetts' allege Natalia tried to kill the family after moving into their home and was 22-years-old when they left her, although she claimed to be just a child.
In 2012, the Barnetts' successfully petitioned court to legally change their adoptive daughter's birth year from 2003 to 1989. This changed her age from eight-years-old to 22.
After this they allegedly abandoned Natalia, who is originally from Ukraine, and moved to Canada with their other children. Natalia has previously hit back at the claims by her former parents, saying she was a child.
Responding to the Barnetts' allegations that she was an adult, Natalia said in an extraordinary interview with US TV star Dr Phil: "It's not true.
"It's not true at all. I just want people to hear my side."
However, Mr Barnett said Natalia tried to poison and kill his wife.
“One night, I opened my eyes and Natalia is standing at the foot of the bed with a knife in her hand,” Michael Barnett says in the trailer.
Michael Barnett was arrested for child abuse in 2019 but was later acquitted by a jury.
They had adopted Natalia in 2010, when they thought she was six-years-old, before allegedly abandoning her in 2013. The couple later divorced.
In an interview with Dr Phil, Natalia hit back at Ms Barnett's claims her adoptive daughter tried to spray bleach into her coffee while they were cleaning together.
Natalia claimed: "It was Lemon Pledge for tables.
"We had missed a spot so what I did was I scooted the chair over so I could get there and I scooted her coffee back so I could grab the thing because it was in front of it.
"So I scooted it back and I grabbed it. She came back and was like 'what are you doing?'.
"She claimed I tried to spray it in her coffee, you can look in her coffee - there was nothing."
The documentary will include three parts and will air on May 29.
It will feature “bombshell interviews with members of Natalia’s adoptive family,” as well as interviews with legal experts and other people close to the bizarre case.
