A dentist who examined Natalia Grace says he had ‘indisputable’ evidence that showed her real age.
Natalia hit headlines across the world after her adopted parents Kristine and Michael Barnett, from Indiana in the US, claimed that she was actually a 22-year-old woman posing as a child.
The couple alleged that after welcoming the Ukrainian-born Natalia into their home, they discovered she was an adult masquerading as a child and that she had nefarious plans to 'kill everyone' in the family.
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After successfully launching a petition to have her ‘re-aged’ from eight to 22, the Barnetts abandoned Natalia on her own in an apartment in Layfette, Indiana, prompting authorities to hit the couple with charges of ‘neglect of a dependent’.
In a new ID documentary series, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, Natalia has shared her side of the story and makes a series of shocking claims against the Barnett’s.
Natalia's true biological age is revealed in the documentary series, and is also confirmed by dentist, Doctor Timothy Gossweiler, who says he has 'indisputable' evidence.
Dr Gossweiler said Kristine approached him in 2011 amid concerns about her age.
In the documentary, Dr Gossweiler shows x-rays of Natalia’s teeth that were taken at the time and said they still showed she had a dozen baby teeth, which was ‘indisputable’ proof of her real age.
He explained: “It’s very simple to determine Natalia’s age, I mean, there’s really no question when you take an x-ray like this. You’ve got baby teeth and adult teeth - and there’s a range for someone with this level of tooth development: six-to-nine-years-old.
“This is way too many baby teeth to be an adult.
“This is indisputable, you can’t fake teeth coming in like this.”
He also claimed that at the time of the exam, he had shared that information with Kristine.
“When mum and Natalia left mum knew Natalia was around eight or nine, which is right in the range of what she said she was,” he added.
Natalia broke down in tears when she was given the news of her real age following medical tests at specialist company TruDiagnostic.
Doctor Halland Chen, from TruDiagnostics, revealed: “Based on all the studies and everything being analysed, you’re more close to 22, which is pretty close to what you think… [that] you’re almost 20. That’s two years.”
This means that Natalia was indeed around seven-years-old when the Barnetts adopted her - and not an adult.
Breaking down in tears after being told the news, Natalia said: “This is so big, because literally this has been 13-years. Thirteen-years of just two people lying their butts off. They ruined a kid’s life.
“They painted me as some big monster when in reality they were the ones.”
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks airs across three consecutive nights on ID from Monday 1 January.
Topics: Natalia Grace, TV and Film, Documentaries
Claire Reid