Kristine Barnett claims her formerly adopted daughter Natalia Grace is lying about being abused in the new ID docuseries “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.”
In a lengthy Facebook post on Thursday, Barnett denied that she nor her ex-husband Michael Barnett ever abused Grace, whom they adopted from Ukraine in 2010.
“Natalia was a very much loved and cared for member of my family,” Kristine wrote Thursday. “She was not abused by anyone in my family. Let’s get straight to these allegations. Nobody ever took a belt to Natalia and the allegations that she was ‘beaten’ are just plain false. Any discipline of Natalia was very minimal and was not out of the bounds of normal parenting.”
In the docuseries, Grace accused Kristine of pepper spraying her multiple times and beating her with a belt. Grace confronted Michael in the series and claimed that he, too, was manipulated and mistreated by Kristine.
The Barnetts previously accused Grace of emotionally and physically abusing them, as well as looming over the couple while they were sleeping with a knife in her hand — which she denies.
When the Barnetts adopted Grace, they believed she was 6 years old, but became suspicious that she was an adult posing as a child. However, according to a DNA test completed in the series, Grace is currently 22 years old, which means her adoptive parents’ assumption was wrong.
However, Kristine also wrote about the decision to legally change Grace’s age from 8 to 22 back in 2012.
“A series of legal happenings based on Natalia’s own behaviors, statements, and much evidence led to her being re-aged at the recommendation of law enforcement,” she said. “As a result she was allowed to make her own adult decisions of where to live and what to do with her life and time while living where she has.”
Kristine also urged Facebook users to check out a “60 Minutes” piece done about the family which was put out “before this highly sensationalized show.”
“Natalia had made these allegations before and they were investigated as unfounded,” Kristine continued, adding that Grace “has alleged abuse by anyone who has had long-term contact” with her, including “neighbors teachers and even children.”
“If there had been any abuse of Natalia or evidence of it, I would have been found guilty of it and I would be in jail,” she continued, also claiming that Grace was never abandoned.
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