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Natalia Grace Barnett’s story shocked true crime viewers all over the nation after ID’s docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace aired on May 29, 2023. The show focused on the accusations made by Natalia’s former adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett. The pair alleged that the Ukraine native was actually an adult instead of a child when they adopted her in 2010 and claimed that she tried to kill members of the Barnett family on multiple occasions. They alleged that Natalia had a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which made her appear smaller. Since Kristine doesn’t show up as much in the series as Michael does, viewers want to know what happened to her and where she is now after her divorce from Michael.
What Happened to Kristine Barnett?
Michael and Kristine adopted Natalia through an emergency adoption process in 2010. Shortly after bringing her home to America, the Barnetts allegedly began noticing violent behavior from their new family member. One of the most shocking allegations from the Barnetts was that Michael witnessed Natalia “standing at the foot of the bed with a knife in her hand,” he claimed during the Curious Case of Natalia Grace docuseries trailer. Not only that, but Natalia also allegedly tried to poison Kristine’s coffee and drag her into an electric fence, Michael claimed.
Over time, the Barnetts couldn’t live under the same roof as Natalia anymore. So, Michael, Kristine and their biological children moved to Canada in 2013, leaving Natalia in a rental apartment in Lafayette, Indiana.
Eventually, Michael and Kristine divorced, but they maintained their allegations against Natalia in the years to come. Although they filed a petition in 2012 to the Marion County Probate Court to change Natalia’s birth year from 2003 to 1989, the former spouses were ultimately charged with several counts of neglect in the state of Indiana in September 2019.
Michael faced counts such as neglect of a dependent, neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury and conspiracy to neglect a dependent. Four counts of neglect of a dependent were dismissed against him, though, in February 2022. He then appeared in court in October 2022 for his trial. Natalia testified at Michael’s trial, noting, “I wanted to be with the Barnetts. I wanted to live with them.”
Ultimately, Michael was found not guilty of the charges later that month. Charges against Kristine were also dropped in March 2023, less than one month before her trial was scheduled to begin.
Kristine has been living in Florida, In Touch can confirm.
Kristine Barnett Responds to Allegations of Abuse in ‘Natalia Speaks’
Kristine responded to Natalia and Michael’s allegations of abuse against her in a January 4, 2024, Facebook post.
“Natalia was a very much loved and cared for member of my family,” Kristine wrote one day after the dramatic finale of Natalia Speaks.
She continued her lengthy post with, “She was not abused by anyone in my family. Let’s get straight to these allegations. Nobody ever took a belt to Natalia and the allegations that she was ‘beaten’ are just plain false. Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting.”
Natalia’s former adoptive mother said that the Investigation Discovery series was “highly sensationalized” and claimed Natalia’s allegations of abuse had been “investigated” and determined to be “unfounded.”
Kristine concluded her more than 2,600-word post with, “Michael Barnett and Natalia Barnett may have the same monster but that monster is not me. That monster whether it’s mental illness sociopathy or whatever it actually is may be different for each of them. But it’s within their own psyche.”
Did Kristine Barnett Go to Jail?
Kristine addressed viewer’s questions about whether she had been to jail in her January 4, 2024, Facebook post.
“For people wondering if I have been to jail, yes,” Kristine wrote. “I was booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail. I faced charges and these same allegations at that time.”
She continued that the case against her was “determined to be false,” adding there was “no evidence of any harm to Natalia or abandonment of Natalia by [her].”
“It was a case that should not have been brought,” Kristine continued, saying that both she and ex-husband Michael had been charged with “various levels of causing bodily harm to Natalia due to these allegations.” She noted that Michael had faced a jury trial and had been found “innocent,” and that her case had been dismissed after Michael testified in her pretrial.
“If there had been any abuse of Natalia or evidence of it, I would have been found guilty of it and I would be in jail,” she added. “The fact that these false allegations are occurring after a trial with evidence which was dismissed is disturbing . It’s like being assumed guilty after being proven innocent.”
Where Is Natalia Grace Now?
While living in Lafayette, Indiana, Natalia was adopted by Antwon and Cynthia Mans, a family who took her in after the Barnetts left her. The Manses spoke alongside Natalia on Dr. Phil in 2019 and defended her.
“We have other children. We have a grandson,” Cynthia explained at the time. “[Natalia] does nothing but love her siblings and her nephew.”
Show host Phil McGraw expressed his uncertainty over the situation while speaking with the trio, saying, “A 6 or 7-year-old child living in an apartment alone for a year? That’s just not believable to me.”
In response, Natalia claimed that she “didn’t even go grocery shopping.” “My landlord took me to a gas station or something just to get a couple of things,” she continued. “The Barnetts had given me food, like canned foods and stuff like that.”
Though it seemed like Natalia had a happy ending with Cynthia and Antwon, this was shown not to be the case in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace season 3, called The Final Chapter. After the Manses claimed at the end of Natalia Speaks that the Ukraine native “stabbed them in the back,” it was revealed that Natalia wanted to move to the U.K. with boyfriend Neil, whom she met online. She claimed to Neil that she had been “held hostage” by Cynthia and Antwon for years and was tired of living an isolated life.
After they found out about Neil, Cynthia and Antwon convinced Natalia to stay with them and took away her phone and internet access. However, Neil contacted Nicole and Vince DePaul and expressed concern about Natalia being in the Manses’ care. Nicole got in contact with Natalia, who begged to be rescued. Nicole traveled to Tennessee with daughter Mackenzie DePaul, where Natalia was living with the Mans family, and brought her back to their home in Upstate New York, where she has lived ever since.
Nicole discovered that Natalia had been giving Cynthia all of her disability income and other finances for years and claimed that the Manses were using Natalia for her money. Meanwhile, other people who lived with the Manses came forward with claims that they allegedly physically abused Natalia. She refused to respond to the abuse claims, telling producers, “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Though Natalia defended Cynthia and Antwon at first and continued to let them be her “payee” for her SSI benefits, she eventually cut off contact with them. Nicole agreed to help Natalia get her money back.
Is Natalia Grace an Adult or a Child?
Michael and Kristine were able to legally change Natalia’s birth certificate from the year 2003 to the year 1989 when the former couple filed the petition in 2012. However, as seen in the follow-up documentary Natalia Speaks, an endocrinologist and dentist both told Kristine in 2010 and 2011 that Natalia was around 9 years old at the time. In August 2023, Natalia took a DNA test that proved she was 22 years old in the present day, meaning that she was a child when the Barnetts abandoned her.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks sees Natalia address the allegations that the Barnetts made against her, claiming that they were all lies. She alleges that she experienced extreme abuse from Kristine, including getting beaten with a belt, pepper sprayed in the eyes and more. Natalia also confronts Michael, who claims that he was also a victim of Kristine’s abuse and was forced to go along with her accusations against their former daughter.
In a rare interview with People ahead of The Final Chapter’s release, Natalia claimed that Kristine “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?” she said.
Natalia added, “I really disliked being the girl who was re-aged and lived in her own apartment. 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.”
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