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The baffling true story behind Good American Family
The disabled Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism accused of masquerading as a child and trying to kill her adoptive parents spoke out for the first time last year. Now, she’s the inspiration behind a Hulu drama series starring Ellen Pompeo. Andrea Cavallier takes a look at the bizarre case
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Years after the curious case of Natalia Grace captivated the nation, a new series inspired by the bizarre story of the Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism accused of trying to kill her adoptive parents while masquerading as a child is airing on Hulu.
Good American Family, which is out today, focuses on the “disturbing stories” surrounding a Midwestern couple who adopt a girl with a rare form of dwarfism, according to the show’s description.
Natalia and her adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett are not directly mentioned, but the series is inspired by “multiple stories, perspectives, threats, interpretations, and accusations.”
Like the Barnetts, the parents in the series, played by Grey's Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass, raise the girl along with their biological children but become suspicious of the girl, claiming that she is a lot older than they believed her to be, and that she posed a threat to their physical safety.
“As they defend their family from the daughter they've grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and in the courtroom,” according to Hulu, adding that the story is told from “multiple points of view, as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias and trauma.”
The case made national headlines in 2014 and has remained in the public eye over the years as the parents had Natalia's age legally changed and left her on her own in an apartment.
Imogen Faith Reid (left) and Ellen Pompeo star in ‘Good American Family) (Disney )Over the years, the case has been the focus of several TV shows, podcasts and documentaries, including Investigation Discovery's documentary series The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.
In the ID series, Natalia shared harrowing details of her childhood for the first time, which ended with her being welcomed into a new family, with parents Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans, a religious couple who later adopted her.
The Mans were supposed to be a happy ending for Natalia, who puts her own age at 21. But it turned out to be anything but, as seen in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, which aired on Investigation Discovery and Max.
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Try for freeAmid the release of the series, Natalia also revealed last month in a rare interview with PEOPLE that she’s living with her third American family, sharing new details about how she fled her last adopted family’s control in the middle of the night.
Natalia Grace has inspired a new series on Hulu (Investigation Discovery )For years, Natalia Grace was accused by her adoptive parents Michael and Kristine Barnett of “masquerading” as a child who they insisted was actually a murderous “sociopath” intent on killing their family.
The Ukrainian orphan was adopted in 2010 by the Barnetts who later petitioned a judge to change her legal age from eight to 22, after they cited chilling “evidence” that they alleged proved she was substantially older.
When Natalia, who has a rare genetic disorder called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, was adopted, the couple were told she was six years old at the time.
But the couple had doubts and later cited “evidence” that proved she was older than she was claiming to be.
When Kristine attempted to bathe their new daughter, she was shocked to discover pubic hair; it wasn’t long before the adoptive mother discovered that Natalia had been hiding her menstrual cycle, she claimed.
When the Barnetts discovered that another girl with the same rare form of dwarfism was also living in Indiana, the parents arranged a visit so the two children could meet.
The Ukrainian orphan was adopted in 2010 but the couple claimed she was older than six ( Investigation Discovery)Michael Barnett claims he was immediately taken aback by how much older Natalia seemed than the other girl — insisting that Natalia recognized it, too, and quickly tried to make herself seem younger.
Over the next several months, what started as a question of Natalia’s true age quickly spiraled into a vortex of allegations, with the Barnetts claiming their adopted daughter was really a homicidal adult.
Natalia’s adoptive mother Kristine, who could not be reached by ID’s producers for the docuseries, told DailyMail.com in 2019 that her family were terrorized in the months after they adopted her.
She alleged Natalia threatened to stab the family in their sleep, pushed her towards an electric fence, and poured bleach in her coffee.
When she asked Natalia what she was doing, Natalia would respond, “I am trying to poison you.”
In the first season of the ID docuseries, Natalia pushes back against the allegations that she says are blatantly lifted from the 2009 thriller film Orphan.
“I never tried to murder anybody,” she said.
Her adoptive mother alleged Natalia threatened to stab the family in their sleep ( Investigation Discovery)In 2019, the Barnetts were taken into custody on child neglect charges after they abandoned Natalia in a Lafayette, Indiana apartment, and moved to Canada.
Michael was acquitted of the charges in October 2022, while Kristine had her case dismissed in March 2023, just three weeks before her trial. The couple have been divorced since 2013.
Natalia shares her story for the first time
Natalia’s story has resulted in multiple documentaries — including ID’s docuseries The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which aired in 2023.
Then in 2024, she spoke out for the first time in ID’s docuseries Natalia Speaks, in which she comes face-to-face with her adoptive father in an explosive reunion where she grills him about the countless questions she’s had for years.
Natalia, who states that she “lost her childhood” also addresses some of the wild accusations thrown at her, including that she tried to kill her adoptive family.
“They’re not going to get away with this,” Natalia says in the docuseries. “This is my side of the story. Do I look like a monster to you?”
In 2024, Natalia spoke out for the first time in ID’s docuseries Natalia Speaks, in which she comes face-to-face with her adoptive father in an explosive reunion (Investigation Discovery )Natalia believes the Barnetts’ “lies” are confirmed when she finally gets medical confirmation about her age in the first episode.
The DNA testing done at TruDiagnostic, using just a sample of her blood to determine her “chronological age,” determined she was “closer to 22” in age at this time, which they noted was “pretty close to what you think, you’re almost 20, that’s within 2 years,” according to Dr Halland Chen, who appeared on the doc.
“I’ve known the truth for as long as I can remember, that I was a kid,” Natalia says, breaking down in tears after getting the results. “I just want people to really see the truth about my age.”
This is significantly younger than 34, which is the age according to her legally changed birthdate of 1989. That meant she was just four when she came to the United States from Ukraine and only eight years old when the Barnetts legally changed her age, and moved to Canada, leaving her behind in a Lafayette apartment alone.
“This one little piece of paper throws every single lie the Barnetts have said right into the trash, with a match. This is so big, this has been 12 years of just two people, lying their butts off. They ruined a kid’s life,” Natalia said after she was given the results.
Natalia Grace speaks out in chilling new docuseriesThe sit-down was the first time Natalia and her adoptive father Michael Barnett had seen each other face-to-face outside of a courtroom in years
“Why are we here, Michael?” Natalia pointedly asks.
“Why are we here?” Michael responded. “If you’re talking philosophically...”
“No, I want to know — why did you adopt me in the first place?” Natalia asks.
Michael claimed he was also a victim and that he was manipulated and mistreated by Kristine, who is now his ex-wife.
“Many of these questions there’s not going to be a single answer to,” he explained.
“This is not easy. I had the same monster you did. Kristine. I was exceptionally controlled and put down and threatened, was minimalized, anything that was who I was was ripped from me and I was guided and instructed to be exactly what she wanted me to be.”
While the two appear to be trauma bonding over this, Natalia later states that she still believes Michael is guilty, “because he stood by and did nothing.”
“If Kristine was his so-called monster, he could have fought her. I couldn’t,” she later says to the camera.
When she asks him if he knew about the alleged abuse, some of which he said he did know about, Michael became emotional and claimed he could not do anything because Kristine made threats that he would never see his sons again.
Natalia Grace breaks down while speaking on the ID series (Investigation Discovery )Natalia admitted in the docuseries that when she lived with the Barnetts, she would tell people she was 22 – out of fear.
“When Kristine told me to tell people I was 22, I did it because I was terrified,” she explained, detailing horrific claims of repeatedly being hit with a belt and made to stand against a wall for hours, soiling herself. “I didn’t know what she would do.”
Natalia also fired off questions to Michael and refuted his previous claims about her, including one that she held a knife in her hand as she “loomed” over his bed where he and his wife were sleeping.
“I was never in y’all’s room with a knife,” Natalia exclaims with her head in her hands.
“I know what I saw,” he responded.
Natalia has denied every allegation of murderous intentions and behavior leveled by the Barnetts.
“They were supposed to take care of me. But all they did was hurt me.”
Natalia’s escape
Natalia thought she found happiness with a new adoptive family – Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans, a couple who lived a strict religious lifestyle with their 10 children in Indiana, and later Tennessee.
The couple has advocated for Natalia and her disability, and in 2019, they went on Dr. Phil with Natalia and maintained that she never showed any signs of violence toward their family.
But it wasn’t the happy ending Natalia had hoped for.
In the new docuseries, there are claims that the Mans exploited Natalia.
Several witnesses claim to have seen the Mans physically abusing Natalia by slapping her in the face and whipping her with a belt. When asked about the allegations by PEOPLE, Natalia would not confirm or deny the alleged incidents.
But Natalia did share with the outlet how she planned her escape from the family, whom she accused of controlling her and forbidding her from contacting outsiders.
Understanding the case of Natalia GraceShe enlisted her boyfriend and old friends Nicole and Vince DePaul, to create an escape plan. The DePauls tried to adopt Natalia in 2009 but were turned down, PEOPLE reported.
Natalia told the outlet that she was nervous about leaving her family and the “sisters” she had helped take care of, but knew it was the right decision.
Since Natalia left the Mans family, she has been living with the friends who helped her escape.
Nicole and her husband Vince are little people, like Natalia. The couple told PEOPLE that things were bumpy at first because the Mans were still involved, but have since smoothed out.
“They were calling Natalia constantly and trying to wheel her back in,” Nicole said. “It was just this constant thing where we were walking a fine line of not doing too much. See, she just came from this house that basically was ruled by a dictator, so I didn’t want to tell her what to do”
“She’s also never done one violent thing ever," Nicole added. “Our dogs love her and they sleep with her. I’m an animal lover. If I didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t leave my babies with her. They’re also a judge of character, as well.”
Natalia is learning how to drive and has been studying for her GED as she strives to be a teacher one day. She is still with her boyfriend and says “it’s a blessing to be alive.”
“Learning everything that I have about how to live with my dwarfism—it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I love it. I mean, of course, I still miss my siblings and everything. But I love it. I feel free.”
