Kristine Barnett has said that Natalia tried to push her into an electric fence, pour bleach (or an unknown chemical) in her coffee, and said she would stab the Barnett’s in their sleep. Natalia would, according to her new mother, even draw pictures showing she wanted to kill their family and roll them up in blankets in the backyard. She would stand over them in the night, and they had to hide knives and all sharp objects.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/natalia.png” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
Although it seems almost impossible, if the Barnett family is correct, the ruse their adopted daughter perpetuated may have been in motion since they first adopted Natalia, back in 2010. At that time, they were told that the girl was eight years old or as young as 6, and had spondyloepiphyseal – a form of dwarfism which also causes vision problems. As the family settled into a routine of ordinary life, it didn\u2019t take long before Kristie noticed blood stains on her underwear and that she had pubic hair when bathing her.<\/p>\n
After Natalia tried to push and drag her adopted mother into an electric fence, she was placed in a year-long psychiatric facility run by the state. Clinical therapists during that year of 2012 have suggested that Natalia told them she was 18.<\/p>\n
The story gets more complicated as, in 2012, the adopted parents had Natalia\u2019s age legally changed from 8 years old to 22 or born in 1989, not 2003. While authorities have referenced a bone density scan taken at Peyton Manning Children\u2019s Hospital, which suggested Natalia was only 11 at that time, an attorney for the parents says that information proving their claims has been intentionally left out of the case.<\/p>\n
For instance, other documents such as an Indiana University Health report made in 2016 suggest that Natalia had made a \u201ccareer\u201d out of age facade. She had adult teeth and didn\u2019t grow at all, which even a child with dwarfism would have.<\/p>\n
Kristine and Michael Barnett are convinced that Natalia\u2019s mental problems also prove her age since she had a severe psychological illness only found in adults, which included her hearing voices. She acted out by smearing her bodily fluid on their home\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n
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Since they had Natalia\u2019s age changed to age 22, they helped her rent a year of an apartment stay, after she was discharged from the hospital. They also helped her apply for food stamps, plus a social security number and benefits. Barnett communicated with Natalia daily, she says, and planned on having her enroll in college, get a high school diploma, and study cosmetology. She even furnished Natalia\u2019s apartment.<\/p>\n
However, after moving to Canada so their son, Jacob, could attend a prestigious school called the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Natalia stopped answering their calls. They suspected she had quit her psych meds and might even be pretending to be a child again after Kristine saw a pink dress and bike parked by her home. They also received a letter that Michael Bennett was no longer her social security beneficiary.<\/p>\n
Authorities launched a 5-year long investigation into Kristine and Michael Barnett and have charged them with felony neglect, though both of the adopted parents have pled \u201cnot guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Natalia tried to get adopted by a new family as her guardians, which was denied after the judge reviewed medical reports and documents, plus witness statements, which suggested Natalia was 22.<\/p>\n
While Michael Barnett has remarried and relocated, both he and Kristine will have a 2020 court date in front of a jury.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/barnett-mugshot.png” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
How do you feel about the above case? Were the parents negligent and trying to escape a problematic adopted child, or were they legitimately convinced Natalia is an adult? If the Barnett family was scammed, they are not alone. Catfish and scammers abound online.<\/p>\n