Natalia Grace Barnett
Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born woman with dwarfism, then had her age legally changed from 8 to 22 and abandoned her. Michael was convicted of neglect.
In 2010, Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Natalia Grace, described as a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan with a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia.
In 2012, the Barnetts petitioned a court to change Natalia's age from 8 to 22, claiming she was actually an adult posing as a child. They then moved to Canada and left Natalia in a Lafayette, Indiana apartment.
The case became a media sensation, with debate over whether Natalia was a child who had been abandoned or an adult who had deceived her adoptive family. Medical experts disagreed on her actual age.
Michael Barnett was convicted of neglecting a dependent in 2022. Charges against Kristine were dropped. Natalia was later taken in by another family and has maintained she was always a child.
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