This sounds like the plot of the movie Orphan; the thriller about a psychopath who looks like a child but she is actually a full-grown woman who tried to murder her adopted family. That’s some creepy shit!
According to Harian Metro, this family in New York was living in fear after they found that their sweet, little adopted daughter wasn’t who she claimed to be. The girl whom they thought was a six-year-old, innocent child was actually a 21-year-old grown woman.
Source: DailyMail
Kristine, 45 and ex-husband, Michael Barnett, 43, said that when they adopted “the child” from Ukraine in 2010; they were told that “the child”, Natalia is diagnosed with a rare type of dwarfism and she has problems walking. But, little did they know that their life was about to turn into a nightmare!
In an interview with DailyMail TV, Kristine revealed that everything seemed normal with Natalia in the beginning but things started to take a dark turn when she noticed pubic hair growing on Natalia. She also realised that Natalia started having menstruation which is very uncommon for a six-year-old.
Source: DailyMail
Kristine shared,
“She was standing over people in the middle of the night. You couldn’t go to sleep. We had to hide all the sharp objects”
“I saw her putting chemicals, bleach, Windex, something like that, in my coffee and I asked her, ‘what are you doing?’ She said, ‘I am trying to poison you’.”
Source: DailyMail
Since they have suspected that something was wrong with Natalia, they had her checked with the help of their family physician. Much to their surprise, the health check-up proved that their suspicions were right as it confirmed that Natalia is, in fact, an adult and she had some mental illness.
“The doctors all confirmed she was suffering (from) a severe psychological illness (which is) only diagnosed in adults.”
“She was jumping out of moving cars. She was smearing blood on mirrors. She was doing things you could never imagine a little child doing.”
Source: DailyMail
Following that, they tried to get a court order to prove that Natalia was a full-grown woman and they intended to send her away for treatment. Thankfully, they succeeded in getting the court order after applying to have Natalia’s age “corrected” in Marion County Superior Court, Indiana.
After that, Natalia got the psychological treatment she needed and the couple rented her an apartment in 2012 after her treatment was completed. She was taken care off under the supervision of the state healthcare provider, Aspire Indiana. Since she was a legal adult, the Barnetts got her a social security number, food stamps as well as an ID. Besides that, they also helped her to apply for benefits in the state.
Then in 2013, she caused some trouble in the premise and was evicted by the landlord. The Barnetts still didn’t neglect her because they rented a new apartment in Lafayette, Indiana to make sure she doesn’t end up homeless.
Source: DailyMail
Thereafter, things went by smoothly and life was good. Kristine and Natalia communicated daily; they even had a plan for Natalia’s future. It was to get Natalia enrolled in a college so that she could pursue an education in cosmetology but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Natalia vanished as she stopped answering Kristine’s call and the last time they ever spoke was in 2013 when Natalia said she was making spaghetti for her new family.
Fast forward to 2014, a case arose against the Barnetts for leaving Natalia all alone in an apartment without supervision. Hence, they were charged by the police for neglect of a child. What’s even more shocking is that Natalia testified against the Barnetts and accused them of leaving her alone when they moved to Canada.
Source: DailyMail
The cops took Natalia’s statement seriously because they concluded that she was a “credible and reliable” witness. Additionally, Natalia’s bone density tests – which was taken twice in 2010 & 2012 – didn’t favour Barnett’s objection against the accusation. This is because it was discovered that her bones looked like it could belong to a child.
As of today, the couple doesn’t know where Natalia is currently, but they worry that the woman (Natalia) may be under disguise as a child and could have been adopted by another family, again.
This story certainly sent chills down my spine and I hope that the family (or any family, for that matter) will not have to go through a traumatic experience like this. What are your thoughts about this story? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: 5 Incredibly Creepy Murder Cases That Happened in Malaysia
