Orphan Natalia Grace's Alleged Biological Mother Speaks Out In Tearful Interview In Doc

A quick refresher: Michael and Kristina Barnett claimed Natalia -- who was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia -- came to them through an adoption agency in 2010 and were told she was six at the time. But they began to doubt her age and, in June 2012, Marion County Superior Court agreed to legally change the girl's birth record to indicate she was born in 1989 and not 2003.

Shortly after that change, the Barnetts set her up with her own apartment, before they were charged with neglect of a dependent for allegedly abandoning Natalia. Due to the court-ordered age change, they couldn't be charged with child neglect.

As part of his investigation into the case, Detective Brandon Davenport actually traveled to Ukraine in 2019 to interview Natalia's alleged mother, Anna Gava. They did a DNA test, which is said to have confirmed they were a 99.999% match.

In 2022, she was interviewed again and was adamant that Natalia was born on September 3, 2003, her original birth date before the re-aging process. Claiming Natalia was her "biological daughter," she recalled having a "difficult" childbirth, before opening up about why she gave the child up for adoption.

"When I regained consciousness, after anesthesia, the next day the doctor came and said there is no sense to take her home. They said that she won't be able to walk at all and she will be of very short stature," said Gava, via a translator in the docu-series. She claimed she was told it would cost $100,000 for surgery and she didn't "have any finances" to cover that at the time.

"I didn't initially want to leave her but the doctors said there is nothing you could do for her. 'You are young,' they said, 'You are 24 years old. Don't ruin your life, you will have other children,'" she continued.

She began to tear up as she spoke, prompting the interviewer to ask what was making her emotional.

"That I listened to the doctors and left her instead of keeping her. All this time, all those years, I've been thinking about her, what is her life like, what is she doing and everything like this," she said.

"[Natalia] was promised piles of gold and it turned out the opposite," she added, before addressing the girl's life in America. "When I found out what happened, that she was abandoned at the age of 13 alone in an apartment, I was simply shocked, obviously."

The interview then cut out, due to rolling blackouts in the area amid the Ukraine war.

Michael Barnett, who is all over the six-part ID docuseries, reacted to Gava's claims as well in the fifth episode.

"Regarding the woman in the Ukraine that is supposedly her mom, I don't know the truth about anything. I don't know," he said. "I have never met her, I've never been to the Ukraine, I didn't conduct any tests, I've done none of these things. Has this information been validated in a court of law? No. I have some test submitted by a prosecutor who has a reason to want to win their case."

When asked her age in a court deposition in 2022, Natalia said she was biologically 19, but legally 33. Ahead of the trial, the court ruled that they wouldn't be re-litigating her age on the stand.

Michael was cleared of all four neglect charges he was facing on October 27, 2022, while the charges against Kristine were dismissed in March 2023.

All six episodes of "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" are streaming now on Max.