Ukrainian Dwarf Orphan Abandoned By Adoptive Parents Denies Being Adult Sociopath

A Ukrainian dwarf orphan who was abandoned by her adoptive parents has denied being an adult sociopath masquerading as a child.

Natalia Grace Barnett was adopted by Kristine Barnett and her then-husband Michael Barnett in May 2010, but the pair are accused of leaving her in a flat in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, in 2013 when she was nine-years-old, before fleeing to Canada around a week later.

Kristine Barnett

The Barnetts were arrested for child abuse in September, with police accusing them of leaving Natalia to fend for herself for three years - despite the fact she is only three feet tall as a result of a rare form of dwarfism that also makes it difficult for her to walk.

However, Ms Barnett said her family were the real victims, claiming Natalia was actually 22 when they left the US and had tried to kill members of the family on numerous occasions.

Natalia - who has since been adopted by a new family - appeared on Dr Phil to deny the allegations made against her.

She said: "It's not true. It's not true at all. I just want people to hear my side."

Natalia also denied her adoptive parents' claim that they made her have bone scans that proved she was born in 1989. To the contrary, she said she had bone scans since she was adopted that showed she was not lying about her age.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office

Ms Barnett has previously argued that Natalia is undeniably much older than she claims.

She told the Daily Mail: "She would make statements and draw pictures saying she wanted to kill family members, roll them up in a blanket and put them in the backyard.

"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.'

"The media is painting me to be a child abuser but there is no child here.

"Natalia was a woman. She had periods. She had adult teeth. She never grew a single inch, which would happen even with a child with dwarfism.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office

"The doctors all confirmed she was suffering a severe psychological illness 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."

The Barnetts are now awaiting their next court date and have been told they can't discuss Natalia's medical, mental or education record in media interviews.

Topics: TV and Film, Interesting, US News, Weird

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey