All About Kristine Barnett, Natalia Grace's Former Adoptive Mom Who Now Calls Her 'Sociopath'

Upon the release of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks and a DNA test that seemingly confirmed the protagonist's age after years of speculation, Natalia Grace's wild story is making headlines once again.

Natalia — who has a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita — arrived in the United States in 2008 from Ukraine. In 2010, she was adopted by Indiana couple Michael and Kristine Barnett.

At the time, the couple believed they were adopting a 6-year-old girl — but the Barnetts soon became suspicious of her age and alleged that she was an adult posing as a child. The Barnetts, who have since divorced, also claimed that Natalia tried to harm them and their biological children. She was accused of attempting to poison Kristine and dragging her towards an electric fence, PEOPLE previously reported.

In 2012, the couple had Natalia's age legally changed from 8 to 22. The following year, the couple moved with their three sons to Canada without Natalia, leaving her alone in an apartment in Lafayette, PEOPLE previously reported. In 2019, Michael and Kristine were charged with multiple counts of neglecting a dependent after a five-year investigation, but neither was convicted.

Michael was found not guilty of three counts of neglect and conspiracy to commit neglect of a dependent in 2022, the Associated Press reported. In March of 2023, charges against Kristine in connection with the abandonment of Natalia were dropped, WTHR reported at the time.

In the Jan. 1 premiere episode on ID of the three-part The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, a DNA test conducted by the medical lab TruDiagnostic seems to refute the claim that Natalia was posing as a child and revealed that Natalia is approximately 22 years old, which suggests she was 9 years old when she was adopted by Michael and Kristine, PEOPLE previously reported.

“This one little piece of paper throws every single lie that the Barnetts has said right into the trash with a match,” Natalia claims in the episode, which began airing on ID on Jan. 1. 

Kristine Barnett Is Divorced from Husband Michael — and Is an Author

Kristine has largely stayed out of the public eye since Natalia's story captured the attention of millions.

In February 2014, Michael filed for divorce from Kristine, the Journal & Courier reports, and according to the outlet, in 2019, Kristine's address was listed in Bradenton, Fla.

In 2014, Kristine's memoir, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism, was published.

In an alternate cover, Kristine is pictured with her son Jacob. "Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob has an IQ higher than Einstein’s, a photographic memory, and he taught himself calculus in two weeks," the book's description reads in part.

Accusations Against Kristine

In Natalia Speaks, Natalia alleges that she was abused by Kristine. In the episode, she alleges Kristine pepper sprayed her multiple times and hit her with a belt. Another shocking moment came when she confronted her former adoptive father face-to-face. During their conversation, Michael alleges that he was also manipulated and mistreated by Kristine, his ex-wife.

Kristine Speaks Out and Denies Abuse

Kristine does not appear in the series. However, in a public Facebook post on Jan. 4, Kristine addresses the accusations from both Natalia and Michael and adamantly denies any form of abuse.

"Natalia was a very much loved and cared for member of my family," she states. "She was not abused by anyone in my family."

She then calls the allegations of being beaten "just plain false."

"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 wrote while also claiming that Natalia was never abandoned.

"I believe Natalia takes advantage of that sympathy to manipulate people," Kristine adds later in her post. "I believe this because I sat through numerous hospital visits and therapy visits trying to understand and help Natalia and thinking we might be able to find the root of the issue. In the end I learned she is a sociopath."

She ends her post by stating that she is not Natalia's or Michael's "monster," as Michael had claimed in the docuseries.

"Michael Barnett and Natalia Barnett may have the same monster but that monster is not me," Kristine writes. "That monster whether it’s mental illness sociopathy or whatever it actually is may be different for each of them. But it’s within their own psyche."

Where Is Natalia Grace Now?

After the Barnetts moved without Natalia, Antwon and Cynthia Mans took her in in 2013 where she has resided ever since, but the closing minute of last night's episode of Natalia Speaks seemingly revealed that the couple were also growing to mistrust Natalia. 

“Something ain't right with Natalia. This girl is tweakin," Antwon claimed to show producers in a voiceover. "I feel like she's the enemy in the house. And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we're the enemy."

"Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself," he adds later. "We're done. We're done with her."

The Mans family often shared photos with Natalia on their Instagram page. The most recent was on Nov. 23. "Happy Thanksgiving from the Mans family," the caption reads.

All 6 episodes of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks can be streamed on Max.