Orphan Accused of Trying to Kill Adoptive Family Says She 'Literally Lost My Childhood'

Television By TooFab Staff |
ID

Natalia Grace -- who was either a 6-year-old Ukrainian child or a woman in her 20s when she was adopted in 2010 -- confronts her adoptive father in new footage, while a "definitive" answer on her age is teased.

The orphan who sparked a debate over her age and is accused of threatening to kill her adoptive parents is speaking out.

On Monday, ID released new footage from The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, an upcoming three-night event telling the twisted saga from Grace's POV and featuring a confrontation between her and her adoptive father, Michael Barnett.

The sneak peek is of the premiere episode's first few minutes, recapping the network's earlier docuseries before teasing what's to come.

A quick refresher on the wild saga: 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 claimed she tried to "harm" the whole family, before, 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, the Barnetts set her up with her own apartment, before they were arrested and charged for neglect in 2019.

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. In public, the divorced duo both claimed that Natalia was not a child and was actually a woman in her 20s out to kill them and their children.

"Now Natalia shares her side of the story ... Natalia reveals never before heard details," promises ID in the preview above.

"The Barnetts tried to paint me as this big monster. They claim I'm lying about my age. I was 6 years old when they adopted me. But the Barnetts did a petition to change my age to 22 years old. I literally lost my childhood," says Grace in the footage.

As the Barnetts are labeled "heartless cowards," Natalia's new adoptive mom Cynthia Mans reacts to Michael's verdict -- claiming he "smirked" at her after it was announced.

"It was like watching my daughter be raped. There was no justice served," she says, "If I could have caught Kristine in an alley and put a black hoodie on I would have busted her upside the head."

The promo also promises "definitive" DNA proof of Natalia's age, as she undergoes new testing -- before the main event of the series, the showdown between Natalia and Michael -- is teased.

"Many of these questions, there's not going to be a single answer to. There's gonna be a lot of answers to," says Michael.

"I was never in y'alls room with a knife," Natalia also tells him, before Michael replied, "I know what I saw."

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks will premiere across three consecutive nights on ID beginning Monday, January 1, airing nightly from 9-11PM ET/PT.

For more Natalia Grace coverage, check out the links below: