Natalia Grace Claims She Was ‘Coached to Lie’ About Her Age by Kristine Barnett in Rare Interview: Report

Natalia Grace has opened up in a rare interview and claimed that her second set of adoptive parents, Kristine and Michael Barnett, “coached her to lie” about her age.

“I feel like I was brainwashed by the Barnetts. Kristine coached me to lie about my age and say I tried to murder my parents. Why would you do that to your child?” Natalia, 21, told People in an article published on Thursday, January 2.

The Indiana couple believed that Natalia was just 6 years old when they adopted her in 2010, but they became suspicious when they claimed to have discovered she was menstruating and had pubic hair. In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned the courts to have Natalia’s date of birth changed from 2003 to 1989. Eventually, Kristine and Michael accused Natalia of trying to murder Kristine by putting poison in her coffee and by dragging her toward a live electric fence. Natalia has consistently denied the allegations.

“I feel like I have to defend myself and be like, ‘Do I look like somebody that could push someone twice my size into a fence? Do I look like I could even grip a knife?’” Natalia continued.

By 2013, the Barnetts moved Natalia into an apartment of her own before they moved to Canada and cut off any sort of contact with the Ukraine native.

“I really disliked being the girl who was re-aged and lived in her own apartment,” Natalia explained during her interview. “I didn’t understand why I was alone. I just knew I had this instinct in me to push and survive. All I was told was, ‘You’re 22 now. Whenever somebody asks you what your age is, you say you’re 22 and you tried to murder your family.’ I was taught to lie.”

Natalia claimed that Kristine was physically abusive to her when she lived with the Barnetts during the second season of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace. She alleged that Kristine pepper-sprayed her in the eyes, hit her with a belt and gave her three times more of the dosage recommended for her prescription medication. Kristine spoke out against the allegations in January 2024 via Facebook.

“[Natalia] was not abused by anyone in my family. Nobody ever took a belt to Natalia, and the allegations that she was ‘beaten’ are just plain false,” Kristine wrote in a post. “I sat through numerous hospital visits and therapy visits trying to understand and help Natalia and thinking we might be able to find the root of the issue. In the end, I learned she is a sociopath.”

Millions of people have become invested in Natalia’s story over the years. She was initially adopted by a couple from New Hampshire, Dyan and Gary Ciccone, in 2008. However, they relinquished their parental rights due to her behavior, according to court documents viewed by the outlet.

Two years later, Natalia was adopted by Kristine and Michael. After the Barnetts moved to Canada and Natalia was living alone in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, she met Cynthia Mans. Cynthia invited Natalia to move in with her, her husband, Antwon Mans, and their 10 children. While Natalia paid $250 a month in rent while living there, the Manses officially adopted her in 2023.