WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- An American couple claimed that their 6-year-old adopted daughter is actually an adult woman who is determined to kill them.
- The supposedly 6-year-old showed signs of puberty and soon became dangerously violent against their family.
- The case is eerily similar to the 2009 film Orphan, wherein a couple’s supposedly 9-year-old adopted daughter turns out to be a 33-year-old murderer.
Back in 2010, an American couple adopted a supposedly 6-year-old girl from Ukraine. Now, they claim that she’s actually an adult woman pretending to be a child — and that she’s determined to kill them.
Her adoptive parents, 45-year-old Kristine Barnett and 43-year-old Michael Barnett, were told that the girl had a rare form of dwarfism.
The pair told the Daily Mail of their adopted daughter’s concerning behavior.
At supposedly 6 years old, Natalia had an advanced vocabulary. She also showed signs of puberty such as “full pubic hair” and a menstrual cycle.
The Barnetts told Inside Edition that Natalia soon became violent, particularly towards Kristine. She allegedly told them that she wanted to stab their whole family to death in their sleep.
Natalia reportedly tried to kill Kristine twice — by pushing her into an electric fence and by pouring cleaning fluid into her coffee.
Michael Barnett claimed, “She had poured the Pine-Sol in her coffee and just said blatantly, plainly, no emotion, ‘I’m trying to kill you, I want you dead.’”
In 2012 — two years after adopting her — the pair consulted their primary care physician, Dr. Andrew McLaren, regarding Natalia’s real age. The doctor informed them that the girl’s 2003 birth date was clearly inaccurate.
They had Natalia’s age legally changed so she could receive “appropriate psychiatric treatment for an adult.” The supposed 8-year-old’s birthday was changed to September 4, 1989, making her legal age 22 at the time.
Believing Natalia was an adult capable of taking care of herself, the Barnetts left her behind in Indiana for fear of their safety. But they still prepaid a year’s worth of rent and signed her up for social welfare programs. In 2013, they fled to Canada with their three biological children to further their education.
Because of this, the pair were charged with felony neglect of a dependent for abandoning their adopted daughter.
The arrest affidavit claimed that Natalia is still indeed a child. In June 2010, a bone density test determined her to be about 8 years old, just 2 years older than her supposed age when she was adopted. In 2012, a skeletal exam conducted at the same hospital determined her age to be about 11.
Kristine and Michael Barnett, who were served the arrest warrants in late September 2019, vehemently denied the charges. The pair have since been released on bail.
The case is eerily similar to the 2009 film Orphan, wherein a couple adopts a supposedly 9-year-old Russian girl who turns out to be a 33-year-old murderer who killed her last adoptive family.
Source: AOL
