Dwarf posed as child, ‘tried to poison and kill’ adoptive mom: Documentary

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The bizarre tale of a dwarf masquerading as a child was a tabloid natural.

But for one adoptive family, it was a horror movie worthy of a Hollywood screenplay. A yarn that would likely be deemed too unbelievable to produce.

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Now, the Barnett family has finally broken their silence in a new upcoming documentary, The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace, on Investigation Discovery.

“We were all abused,” family patriarch Michael Barnett said in the trailer. “I hate this.”

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In 2010, the Barnett family of Indiana adopted a young girl from Ukraine. The family believed the girl — named Natalia — was six years old.

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They soon changed their mind and accused Natalia of being an “adult masquerading as a child with intent to harm their family.”

Natalia suffers from a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. But the child was violent and manipulative. Something wasn’t quite right.

“She tried to poison and kill my wife,” Michael Barnett said. “One night, I opened my eyes and Natalia is standing at the foot of the bed with a knife in her hand.”

In 2012, the Barnetts made headlines when they petitioned an Indiana court to change girl’s birth year from 2003 to 1989 — a jump from eight-years-old to 22. In the wake of the brouhaha, the family moved to Canada with their biological children.

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A year later, it was discovered that Natalia was living alone in an apartment. Her adoptive parents were investigated and arrested and, in 2019, charged with neglect of a dependent.

“The media is painting me to be a child abuser, but there is no child here,” Kristine Barnett told the Daily Mail in 2019. “Natalia was a woman. She had periods. She had adult teeth.”

Kristine added: “She never grew a single inch, which would happen even with a child with dwarfism. The doctors all confirmed she was suffering a severe psychological illness only diagnosed in adults.”

But the truth finally emerged and in 2022, Michael was found not guilty, and his now ex-wife had all of her charges dismissed this past March.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Michael Barnett recalled that a psychologist said of Natalia: “This person is a sociopath. This person is a con artist. You are all in danger.”

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In 2019, Natalia appeared on the Dr. Phil gabfest and denied everything.

“It’s not true. It’s not true at all. I just want people to hear my side,” she told the TV shrink, adding that things went down hill after the Barnetts claimed bone scans proved she was born in 1989.

“Everything started happening after that one moment,” Natalia said. “I actually thought I had found the right family after bouncing around from a lot of families. I thought I had found the right family for me.”

The three-part docu-series kicks off May 29 on Investigation Discovery which promos promise will feature “bombshell interviews with members of Natalia’s adoptive family” along with legal experts, friends and neighbours.

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