ID’s latest documentary series Natalia Speaks is an extension of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which premiered in May 2022. In the upcoming installment, Natalia Grace, the Ukrainian orphan accused of trying to kill her adoptive parents, confronts her adoptive father, Michael Barnett. The six-part docuseries will premiere on Investigation Discovery on January 1, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. The episodes will air across three consecutive nights.
Former Indiana couple Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Natalia in 2010. After adopting her, the duo claimed they became suspicious of her age, as per People Magazine. Moreover, they accused the orphan, who has a specific type of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, of “masquerading” as a child. They further alleged that she was actually an adult woman with sinister intentions.
The New York Post reported that the couple accused Natalia of looming over them with a knife in her hand while they were sleeping. Confronting her adoptive father, she denied this claim, “I was never in y’all’s room with a knife. I know what I saw.”
Natalia Grace confronts her adoptive father and tells her side of the story in Natalia Speaks
According to the Post, in a preview clip from Natalia Speaks, Natalia Grace dramatically confronts her former adoptive father, Michael Barnett. Telling her side of the story, she says, “In every lie is a hidden truth, but you’ve gotta dig enough to be able to see it. [Michael and Kristine Barnett] They’re not going to get away with this. This is my side of the story. Do I look like a monster to you?”
The Barnetts had previously alleged that Natalia tried to harm them and their biological children. They accused her of trying to poison Kristine’s coffee and kill her by dragging her towards an electric fence. The duo further claimed that she once placed clear thumbtacks on the stairs face up for them to step on. Michael even told Good Morning America that doctors allegedly told them, “This person [Natalia] is a sociopath. This person is a con artist. You are all in danger.”
In the clip, Natalia says, “It’s very frustrating to hear everything that’s being said from Kristine and Michael because I already don’t know who I am.” She alleged she has wanted to learn more about herself and also about what happened to her. Natalia added, “But I’m hearing all this stuff that never actually happened from Kristine and Michael.”
The outlet stated that Michael and Kristine adopted Natalia in April 2010, believing she was a six-year-old girl. Two years later, they petitioned to legally change the girl’s birth year from 2003 to 1989. Following this, a court granted and changed her age from 8 years old to 22. The now-divorced couple then moved to Canada with their biological children, leaving Natalia behind.
However, legal trouble followed the couple, who later divorced, when authorities found Natalia living alone in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana. This led to an investigation and soon resulted in their arrests. They faced neglect of a dependent charge, respectively.
Michael was reportedly found not guilty of three counts of neglect and conspiracy to commit neglect of a dependent in 2022, as per Fox News. Charges against Kristine were also dropped in March 2023.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks premieres on ID starting January 1, 2024.
