True Crime
Natalia Grace Shares Her ‘Side of the Story’ in ‘Natalia Speaks’ Documentary: Release Date, Quotes
Natalia Grace is opening up about her experience with her former adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, in the new Investigation Discovery (ID) documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks. Keep scrolling to learn about the docuseries, find out the release date and more.
What Is ‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks’ About?
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks will follow the three-night run of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which concluded on May 31 on ID. The docuseries recounted the story surrounding Michael and Kristine’s supposed adoption of an adult, who they accused of pretending to be a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan.
The follow-up special will give Natalia the opportunity to share her version of the experience.
What Happens In the ‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks’ Trailer?
Natalia promised to share her “side of the story” because she “never got a chance to say what happened.”
“It’s very frustrating to hear everything that’s being said from Kristine and Michael because I already don’t know who I am, and I want to know who I am, what happened to me,” Natalia said in a clip from the upcoming documentary, which was shared by Entertainment Tonight. “But I’m hearing all this stuff that never actually happened from Kristine and Michael.”
The Ukraine native noted that the allegations made against her were “shocking” because they are “not true.”
“And people are believing what Kristine and Michael are saying without even hearing my side,” she continued. “This is my side of the story, and I’m gonna say what happened because I never got a chance to say what happened. Y’all have heard Kristine and Michael and what they have said, but you need to hear both sides in order to know what really happened.”
In another teaser clip released in December 2023, Natalia denied Michael’s claims that she tried to kill him and Kristine. “I was never in y’all’s room with a knife,” she stated.
“In every lie is a hidden truth, but you’ve gotta dig enough to be able to see it,” Natalia continued in the clip. “They’re not going to get away with this. This is my side of the story.”
She then asked, “Do I look like a monster to you?”
What Claims Did Michael and Kristine Barnett Make Against Natalia Grace?
In the three-part documentary, Natalia was accused of exhibiting disturbing behavior following her adoption. Michael claimed that he caught Natalia “standing at the foot of [his] bed with a knife in her hand” one night, while he also alleged that she tried to poison Kristine’s coffee and pushed her into an electric fence.
Three years after they adopted Natalia in 2012, the Barnetts petitioned to the Marion County Probate Court to have her birth date changed from 2003 to 1989.
Michael and Kristine claimed they couldn’t live with Natalia anymore, and they left the former orphan in Lafayette, Indiana, when they moved to Canada in 2013 with their three biological sons Jacob, Wesley and Ethan. While the Barnetts eventually divorced, they have continued to stick with their allegations against Natalia.
Despite having Natalia’s age legally changed, both members of the former couple were charged with multiple counts of neglect in September 2019 in the state of Indiana.
“I wanted to be with the Barnetts,” Natalia testified during Michael’s October 2022 trial. “I wanted to live with them.”
Michael’s charges were dismissed later that month, while Kristine’s charges were also dropped the following March before she went to trial.
When Does ‘The Curious Case of Natalia Grace’ Premiere?
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks was previously expected to air in summer 2023. In September 2023, Natalia’s new adoptive father, Antwon Mans, shared in a live video that they are still filming the follow-up, so it has been slightly delayed.
“I’m pretty sure it’s wrapping up, so it won’t be that long,” he added.
The premiere date was later pushed back to January 1 and will air for three consecutive nights on ID Network at 9 p.m. ET.
