Where Is Natalia Grace Now? Inside Her Captivating Adoption Case and Life Today — Including Shocking Twist

Mar. 15, 2025

Natalia Grace.Photo:Investigation Discovery/YouTube

Investigation Discovery/YouTube

The story ofNatalia Graceis one that’s stranger than fiction.

Natalia, a Ukrainian orphan with a rare form of dwarfism, firstmade headlines in 2019after her former adoptive parents,Michael and Kristine Barnett, were charged with multiple counts of neglecting a dependent. The charges resulted after a five-year investigation revealed that the Indiana couple, who adopted Natalia as a 6-year-old in 2010, had moved her into an apartment in July 2013 — and then moved to Canada with their three other children.

The Barnetts also claimed that Natalia — who they called a “con artist” and a “sociopath” — was determined to harm their family. Over the two years that she spent with the Barnetts, the couple alleged that she had tried to poison Kristine’s coffee, attempted to drag her towards an electric fence and would place clear thumbtacks face-up on the stairs so that they could step on them.

Michael detailed more of the threats he and his ex-wife (the couple split in 2014) allegedly faced from Natalia inThe Curious Case of Natalia Grace, a three-part docuseries that premiered on ID in May 2023.

“She threatened to stab my sons, drag their bodies outside and bury them underneath the deck,” Michael said in the documentary.

He added, “I promise you within five years someone is dead.”

But Natalia, who has consistentlydenied all of the Barnetts’ accusations, spoke out in her own documentary:The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks. The six-hour ID docuseries debuted in January 2024, with another season airing on Jan. 6 and 7.

“In every lie is a hidden truth, but you’ve gotta dig enough to be able to see it,” Natalia said in the docuseries. “They’re not going to get away with this. This is my side of the story.”

She continued, “Do I look like a monster to you?”

From her origins in Ukraine to the latest in her adoption saga, here is everything to know about Natalia Grace.

Who is Natalia Grace?

A young Natalia Grace.Investigation Discovery/Youtube

Investigation Discovery/Youtube

At the time, the Indiana couple believed they were adopting a 6-year-old girl — but the Barnetts soon became suspicious of her age, with the couple alleging that Natalia had pubic hair, adult teeth and was menstruating, ID reported. In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned Marion County Probate Court to legally change Natalia’s age from 8 to 22, changing her birth year from 2003 to 1989. The following year, the family moved Natalia into an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana — before moving with their three sons to Canada and cutting off contact with Natalia.

Natalia’s story grabbed the attention of the public in 2019 when Indiana prosecutors leveled charges against the Barnetts for neglecting a dependent. Michael and Kristine subsequently revealed to multiple news outlets that they believed Natalia to be an adult posing as a child — and that she had intended to bring harm against their family.

“It’s obvious that her records were falsified. This is an adult masquerading as a child,” Michael said in a November 2019 appearance on Dr. Oz’sTrue Crimeshow.“We took her to the stress center to have her evaluated that she is having thoughts of harming others, and she is stating out loud that she is attempting to kill Kristine.”

Natalia, however, has denied their claims and maintained that she was a child when the Barnetts adopted her.

Where is Natalia Grace now?

Natalia Grace.

Natalia had been living with another Indiana couple, Cynthia and Antwon Mans, and their children, since 2013, according to theLafayette Journal and Courier. Natalia reportedly met Cynthia after the Barnetts moved her into an apartment in Lafayette. Cynthia invited Natalia to move in with them just days after their first meeting.

In 2016, the Mans petitioned to become Natalia’s legal guardians; however, a hearing was required to determine whether Natalia was a minor or a legal adult. After a judge maintained that Natalia was legally an adult, the Mans dropped the guardianship petition — but Natalia has continued to live with the family in the years since.

The producers of the show received a troubling phone call from Antwon Mans. “Something ain’t right with Natalia,” began Antwon. “This girl is tweaking.”

“I feel like she’s the enemy in the house,” he added.

“And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we’re the enemy.”

Cynthia Mans then said on the call, “Natalia is stabbing her family in the back, over a complete lie!”

Antwon added, “She’s done other things too, but this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself.”

“We’re done,” Antwon added. “We’re done with her.”

“I’m a girl who loves kids andwants to get married and have children,” she said. “But one of my biggest things is not making promises I can’t keep. I’ve had too many promises that have been broken. I’m just ready to move on.”

She also now lives with the DePaul family, friends who previously tried to adopt Natalia.

What happened to Michael and Kristine Barnett?

Shutterstock

In 2013, the Barnetts moved to Canada for their then-15-year-old son Jacob to pursue graduate studies in physics. Jacob, who has autism, was previously featured ona 201260 Minutesepisodefor being a math and science prodigy and was the subject of Kristine’s 2013 memoirThe Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism.

However, Michael moved back to Indianapolis from Canada in the fall of 2013, according to theJournal and Courier. He filed for divorce from Kristine in February 2014 after nearly 20 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in 2018.

In September 2019, Michael and Kristine were charged with multiple counts of neglecting a dependent for leaving Natalia in an apartment solo while they moved to Canada. Though an Indiana judge dismissed the charges alleging neglect based on Natalia’s age, prosecutors were able to bring charges against the former couple for neglect based on Natalia’s disabling dwarfism, theJournal and Courierreported.

However, Michael was found not guilty in October 2022, and Kristine’s charges were dismissed in March 2023.

What has Natalia Grace said about Michael and Kristine Barnett?

Natalia Grace and Michael Barnett.Investigation Discovery/YouTube

“I actually thought I had found the right family after bouncing around … I thought I had found the right family for me,” she said to Dr. Phil.

At Michael’s trial in October 2022, Natalia also testified that she did not want to move into her own apartment and wanted to remain living with the Barnetts.

“I wanted to be with the Barnetts,” she said on the stand, according to theJournal and Courier. “I wanted to live with them."

But Natalia has also refuted Michael and Kristine’s claims that she lied about her age and was trying to harm them and their children. She opened up about her side of the story inThe Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.

“This is my side of the story, and I’m going to say what happened because I never got a chance to say what happened,” she said in a preview clip from the documentary.

She continued, “I’m hearing all this stuff that never actually happened from Kristine and Michael. It’s shocking andit’s frustrating because that’s not true. And, people are believing what Kristine and Michael are saying without even hearing my side.”

“Kristine coached me to lie about my age and say I tried to murder my parents,” she said in January 2025. “Why would you do that to your child?”

How old is Natalia Grace now?

“This one little piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts has said right into the trash with a match,” Natalia said in a January 2024 episode ofThe Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, adding, “It just proves that I was not lying about my age.”

Did Natalia Grace inspire the 2009 filmThe Orphan?

Isabelle Fuhrman in ‘Orphan’.© Warner Bros.

While Natalia’s story didn’t inspire the film, Dr. Phil pointed out the similarities between the horror flick’s plot and the Barnetts' claims against her.

“If Kristine made all of this up, she wasn’t very creative,” Dr. Phil said whileinterviewing Natalia in 2019. “She tore it from this movie.”

Cynthia Mans, the woman who Natalia lived with since 2013, agreed with Dr. Phil’s sentiment and called attention to the coincidental timing between the movie and what happened to Natalia.

“The Orphancame out one year before they did this to her,” Cynthia said.

source: people.com