Michael and Kristine Barnett, a married couple who live in Indiana, are facing two counts of felony neglect. On September 27,  the couple pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Indiana courthouse. NBC News states that Kristine wouldn’t give a comment on the case but they were able to get a quote from her attorney. According to NBC News, Philip Hayes, Kristine’s attorney, stated that Kristine was “ready to be adjudicated” and is looking forward to telling “her story in court.” 

The Barnett’s have been charged on two counts of felony neglect when they left their adopted daughter, Natalia, to live on her own in Indiana and fled to Canada. Michael Barnett reported to NBC News that “Natalia, who has a form of dwarfism, was actually an adult when they adopted her in 2010 and was pretending to be a child.” 

The 2009 drama/thriller movie Orphan, showed a family devastated by the loss of their daughter, who then decides to adopt another child. Esther is believed to be a nine-year-old girl who is never involved in trouble and appears to be an innocent person. However, a chain of events unfolds showing something evil lurking in her soul. Turns out this nine-year-old girl is really a thirty-three-year-old woman, wreaking havoc on the families that adopt her. But this was a movie, and things like this don’t translate to the real world. Or does it?

The movie became reality when Michael and Kristine Barnett decided to make an adoption. Michael and Kristine Barnett raised a family of three in Indiana, and one day, in 2010, decided to adopt. When they went into the agency and found a girl they liked, they thought they were adopting an adorable six-year-old girl, Natalia Grace, who they believed to be ordinary. The family now claims to have adopted a girl who they believe is twenty-two years old. The Barnett’s claim that they were in fact manipulated into adopting Grace. When the Barnett’s welcomed Natalia Grace into their home however, it wasn’t long before Grace was threatening to kill Kristine. Michael Barnett, claims that Grace attempted to poison his wife, Kristine, not once, but twice. When these situations began to spiral out of control, the Barnett family decided for her to go see doctors and therapists. Natalia was given a notepad to write down in and writings. One writing showed the girl saying, “Not only am I trying to kill Kristine, but I’m going to kill the brothers, too. Here’s how I’m going to do it. Here’s what I’m going to do with their bodies,”. This clip was sent in by Michael Barnett to The Post.