Natalia Grace’s Adoptive Mom Kristine Barnett Denies Abuse Allegations After Bombshell Docuseries

Natalia Grace’s formerly adoptive mother has broken her silence. Kristine Barnett spoke out in her first public statement since Investigation Discovery’s latest docuseries “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks,” in which the Ukrainian orphan issued disturbing abuse allegations against Kristine. In a lengthy Facebook post on Jan. 4, Kristine denied Natalia’s claims and alleged that she was “a very much loved and cared for member” of her family who was not abused by anyone in the household. “Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting. If anything it was overly permissive as we all felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Natalia and loved her while she lived with us,” she wrote in part, adding, “I am sure there were plenty of fails and some successes I had as a parent and mom but I was not abusive to my children.” Kristine and her now-ex-husband Michael Barnett adopted Natalia in 2010 when she was believed to be about 7 years old and true crime fans were riveted over the former couple’s claims that she was secretly an adult with dangerous tendencies. The Barnetts accused Natalia, who has a rare genetic disorder, of attempting to harm them and their children multiple times. After suspecting that Natalia had been lying about her age, they successfully petitioned a court to legally change her birth year from 2003 to 1989, which would indicate that she was almost 20 at the time she joined their family. The now-former couple faced charges of dependent neglect after Natalia was left to live in an Indiana apartment by herself after they moved to Canada with their three sons in 2013. Michael was found not guilty in 2022 and charges against Kristine were dropped the following March. In “Natalia Speaks,” a DNA test conducted in 2023 seemingly confirmed Natalia’s real age to be around 22.