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00:00:00,793 --> 00:00:02,033
[Michael sighs, inhales]
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00:00:02,896 --> 00:00:03,965
[exhales]
3
00:00:05,896 --> 00:00:07,103
You wanna give me a word?
4
00:00:07,103 --> 00:00:08,172
You want, you want,
5
00:00:08,172 --> 00:00:09,275
you wanna have me
6
00:00:09,275 --> 00:00:10,724
give you one word
7
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that describes Natalia to me?
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00:00:13,517 --> 00:00:14,689
Enigma.
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00:00:16,379 --> 00:00:18,241
She won't tell us
the truth in who she is.
10
00:00:19,068 --> 00:00:22,896
We are living with
a con artist sociopath.
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00:00:22,896 --> 00:00:25,896
[female reporter] Now a story
making headlines
around the world.
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00:00:25,896 --> 00:00:29,206
Is this a child
or a grown woman?
13
00:00:29,206 --> 00:00:32,103
[male reporter] The Barnetts
believe the adoption
was a scam all along.
14
00:00:32,103 --> 00:00:33,724
They claim they were tricked
15
00:00:33,724 --> 00:00:35,379
into adopting an adult.
16
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She's evil.
17
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,896
I promise you,
18
00:00:39,896 --> 00:00:42,379
within five years,
someone's dead.
19
00:00:42,379 --> 00:00:43,689
[Kristine] What is it?
20
00:00:44,517 --> 00:00:45,655
[Kristine] Why?
21
00:00:48,724 --> 00:00:50,000
She threatened
to stab my sons,
22
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,206
drag their bodies outside
23
00:00:52,206 --> 00:00:54,379
and bury them under the deck.
24
00:00:54,379 --> 00:00:56,413
She tried to poison
and kill my wife.
25
00:00:56,413 --> 00:00:59,103
Bye-bye!
26
00:00:59,103 --> 00:01:01,724
She said, "I pulled a knife
on my parents. Big deal."
27
00:01:01,724 --> 00:01:03,896
It's like a serial killer
or something.
28
00:01:03,896 --> 00:01:06,103
It's how casually
they put attempted murder
29
00:01:06,103 --> 00:01:07,482
into a conversation.
30
00:01:07,482 --> 00:01:09,068
She was gonna kill everybody.
31
00:01:10,482 --> 00:01:12,724
You've adopted a kid and now
they're trying to kill you.
32
00:01:12,724 --> 00:01:14,793
I mean, it's the stuff
of a horror movie, right?
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00:01:15,275 --> 00:01:16,620
If you watch the Orphan,
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00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:17,965
it's just like the Orphan.
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00:01:19,206 --> 00:01:20,448
[woman speaking]
36
00:01:22,724 --> 00:01:25,689
She was an adult.
You could tell
by looking at her.
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00:01:33,103 --> 00:01:34,378
[woman] Natalia was a victim.
38
00:01:34,378 --> 00:01:36,206
The Barnetts
are the predators.
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00:01:36,206 --> 00:01:38,103
They just literally
left her to the wolves.
40
00:01:38,103 --> 00:01:40,896
I don't know that there's
100% one villain here.
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00:01:40,896 --> 00:01:44,482
Kristine basically said that
Natalia destroyed their lives.
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00:01:46,723 --> 00:01:48,620
Irregardless of her age,
she was left
43
00:01:48,620 --> 00:01:52,103
feeling abandoned
and neglected, alone.
44
00:01:52,103 --> 00:01:53,482
[woman 1] Natalia was a child.
45
00:01:53,482 --> 00:01:55,172
I know that for sure
46
00:01:55,172 --> 00:01:57,758
because I'm a little person.
47
00:01:58,482 --> 00:02:00,379
[woman 2] I think
Kristine Barnett
48
00:02:00,379 --> 00:02:02,448
is a sorry excuse
for a mother.
49
00:02:06,482 --> 00:02:08,723
[woman crying]
When I found out
what happened to her,
50
00:02:08,723 --> 00:02:11,103
that was what
broke my heart the most.
51
00:02:11,103 --> 00:02:13,965
There were a lot of secrets
in that house.
52
00:02:14,517 --> 00:02:15,586
[crying]
53
00:02:15,586 --> 00:02:17,000
[man] His minimum sentence
54
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,379
is three to 16 years.
55
00:02:18,379 --> 00:02:19,413
[crying]
56
00:02:19,413 --> 00:02:20,896
It doesn't smell right.
57
00:02:20,896 --> 00:02:22,275
There's something wrong.
58
00:02:22,275 --> 00:02:23,586
It smells like [bleep].
59
00:02:29,896 --> 00:02:32,793
Do you know the difference
between the truth and a lie?
60
00:02:32,793 --> 00:02:35,310
-I didn't at the time, no.
-Oh, you didn't know.
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00:02:35,310 --> 00:02:37,517
I was just listening to what
Kristine told me to tell them.
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00:02:37,517 --> 00:02:39,482
[woman 1] You just don't know
the true Barnetts.
63
00:02:39,482 --> 00:02:41,103
[woman 2] There was
domestic violence.
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00:02:41,103 --> 00:02:42,896
[Michael grunting]
65
00:02:42,896 --> 00:02:44,793
[woman 1] They'll do anything
to get what they want.
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00:02:44,793 --> 00:02:47,000
[woman 3] There were all these
pieces to a puzzle
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00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:48,517
that we couldn't
quite put together.
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00:02:48,517 --> 00:02:50,206
You're saying you lie
69
00:02:50,206 --> 00:02:52,379
-because she told you to lie.
-Yes.
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00:02:52,379 --> 00:02:54,724
Michael and Kristine
not only lied
71
00:02:54,724 --> 00:02:57,067
to get her into their family,
72
00:02:57,067 --> 00:02:59,310
but they also lied
to get rid of her.
73
00:02:59,310 --> 00:03:02,206
This is one of the most
twisted cases ever.
74
00:03:02,206 --> 00:03:04,000
[man] I know
he's not the kinda guy
75
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,103
that could do well
if he had to go to prison.
76
00:03:06,103 --> 00:03:08,103
You got a seatbelt? Buckle up.
77
00:03:08,103 --> 00:03:10,275
[woman] I don't think
anyone will ever get
78
00:03:10,275 --> 00:03:13,172
the complete truth.
79
00:03:13,172 --> 00:03:15,517
[Kathy] So much of this
is a mystery.
80
00:03:15,517 --> 00:03:18,000
[man 1] I still don't have
concrete answers.
81
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,206
[man 2] Somebody's not
telling the truth.
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[Michael] It is a web of lies.
83
00:03:22,103 --> 00:03:24,586
[man] I'm not sure you can
trust anybody in this case.
84
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We were all [bleep] abused!
85
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,862
[shouts] We were all abused!
86
00:03:32,896 --> 00:03:34,586
[crying] I'm so scared.
87
00:03:36,379 --> 00:03:38,551
[inhales] This will
never stop.
88
00:03:39,103 --> 00:03:40,241
[theme music playing]
89
00:04:05,620 --> 00:04:07,310
[Michael] I hope I don't
overstate this
90
00:04:07,310 --> 00:04:10,103
and make it seem a little bit
too Normal Rockwell,
91
00:04:10,103 --> 00:04:12,172
American, uh, life,
92
00:04:12,172 --> 00:04:14,172
but life was fantastic.
93
00:04:14,172 --> 00:04:15,793
It really was.
94
00:04:16,793 --> 00:04:18,447
This was summer 2010.
95
00:04:18,896 --> 00:04:20,620
Life's great.
96
00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:22,448
We'd been married
for about 15 years.
97
00:04:23,172 --> 00:04:24,517
We have three sons,
98
00:04:24,517 --> 00:04:26,275
Jacob, Wesley and Ethan.
99
00:04:26,275 --> 00:04:27,689
Financially,
we're doing great.
100
00:04:27,689 --> 00:04:30,862
We've got a literal
brand new McMansion,
101
00:04:32,517 --> 00:04:35,655
5,000-square-foot home
in a prestigious town
102
00:04:36,793 --> 00:04:39,275
and a driveway
loaded with cars in it.
103
00:04:39,275 --> 00:04:42,482
There's a Lamborghini in
my driveway, for God's sakes.
104
00:04:42,482 --> 00:04:45,000
We have 13 TVs.
We've got 14 couches.
105
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,310
There was hundreds
of thousands of dollars
in the bank account.
106
00:04:49,310 --> 00:04:52,172
More importantly, we were
a very tight-knit family.
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00:04:53,379 --> 00:04:54,793
It really was
108
00:04:55,482 --> 00:04:57,275
the pinnacle of life.
109
00:04:58,517 --> 00:05:00,172
[Kathy] Michael
loved Kristine dearly.
110
00:05:00,172 --> 00:05:02,586
When the flowers came
for their anniversary,
111
00:05:02,586 --> 00:05:04,068
it was a dozen roses for
112
00:05:04,068 --> 00:05:05,896
every year they were married.
113
00:05:05,896 --> 00:05:08,689
So, for their
10th anniversary,
114
00:05:08,689 --> 00:05:10,172
10 dozen roses.
115
00:05:10,620 --> 00:05:11,896
[Michael] Kristine and I,
116
00:05:11,896 --> 00:05:14,103
we could do anything together.
117
00:05:14,103 --> 00:05:17,517
And when we realized
our oldest son Jacob
118
00:05:17,517 --> 00:05:19,275
has Asperger's, or autism,
119
00:05:19,275 --> 00:05:21,068
we fought those fights.
120
00:05:21,068 --> 00:05:22,724
We were downright amazing
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00:05:22,724 --> 00:05:24,206
at the things
we could accomplish.
122
00:05:24,206 --> 00:05:25,724
I'm Jacob Barnett
123
00:05:25,724 --> 00:05:28,172
here with an introduction
to scientific notation.
124
00:05:28,172 --> 00:05:29,896
I figured that,
since I was teaching it
125
00:05:29,896 --> 00:05:31,724
to my two brothers,
Wesley and Ethan,
126
00:05:31,724 --> 00:05:33,724
I would be able
to post it onto YouTube.
127
00:05:33,724 --> 00:05:37,000
Okay, so I'm going to
finish this integral.
128
00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,689
D by DX.
129
00:05:38,689 --> 00:05:40,413
[Michelle] Their oldest son
is a genius
130
00:05:40,413 --> 00:05:42,586
and was moving
through schooling
131
00:05:42,586 --> 00:05:44,655
faster than I move
through a pair of shoes.
132
00:05:46,517 --> 00:05:48,000
I did not come here
133
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:49,724
to frighten you all
with quantum mechanics.
134
00:05:49,724 --> 00:05:50,793
[audience chuckling]
135
00:05:50,793 --> 00:05:52,379
Not yet. [chuckles]
136
00:05:54,206 --> 00:05:57,172
[Michelle] We would get
a message from Michael saying,
137
00:05:57,172 --> 00:05:58,724
"Hey, did you see the paper?
138
00:05:58,724 --> 00:06:00,275
Jake's on the front page,"
139
00:06:00,275 --> 00:06:02,724
to, "Kristine's
writing a book.
140
00:06:02,724 --> 00:06:04,965
It's been picked up
by a publisher."
141
00:06:05,413 --> 00:06:06,689
[clock ticking]
142
00:06:06,689 --> 00:06:08,068
...cubed, divided by...
143
00:06:08,068 --> 00:06:09,793
[reporter] He has
a full scholarship
144
00:06:09,793 --> 00:06:12,482
at the joint Indiana
University-Purdue campus.
145
00:06:12,482 --> 00:06:15,896
For Jake, fun is reciting
from memory
146
00:06:15,896 --> 00:06:19,103
the infinite series of numbers
known as pi.
147
00:06:19,103 --> 00:06:24,689
3.1415926535897932384626433...
148
00:06:24,689 --> 00:06:28,724
Jacob's one of
the smartest people
I've ever heard of.
149
00:06:28,724 --> 00:06:30,551
They're travelling the world.
150
00:06:31,724 --> 00:06:33,379
[man] Jacob, when he was 15,
151
00:06:33,379 --> 00:06:34,793
got an award from the Vatican.
152
00:06:38,413 --> 00:06:40,793
This was where
the Barnett's lived.
153
00:06:40,793 --> 00:06:43,379
The garage was, um,
154
00:06:43,379 --> 00:06:46,896
where Kristine Barnett
had her daycare.
155
00:06:46,896 --> 00:06:49,103
They were all
special-needs kids.
156
00:06:49,103 --> 00:06:52,103
[Angelo] The Barnett family
opened up a foundation
157
00:06:52,103 --> 00:06:55,793
a place where parents
and kids with autism
158
00:06:55,793 --> 00:06:58,482
could go be with other parents
and kids with autism
159
00:06:58,482 --> 00:06:59,586
and feel normal.
160
00:07:00,482 --> 00:07:02,000
[Michelle] We were
proud of them
161
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,551
and they just seemed
so happy together.
162
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,448
The Barnetts had
the picture-perfect life
163
00:07:11,379 --> 00:07:12,551
it seemed.
164
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,310
So, we went from early 2010
165
00:07:17,310 --> 00:07:19,793
were blessed with many things.
166
00:07:19,793 --> 00:07:21,896
By the time 2014 came around,
167
00:07:21,896 --> 00:07:24,172
I have 37 cents
in my bank account,
168
00:07:25,379 --> 00:07:26,551
I have no wife,
169
00:07:27,068 --> 00:07:28,517
I have no children,
170
00:07:28,517 --> 00:07:29,689
I have no home,
171
00:07:30,206 --> 00:07:32,000
I have no job.
172
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,000
My possessions,
at that moment,
173
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,068
was my car
and a backpack of clothing.
174
00:07:38,896 --> 00:07:41,034
If Natalia
never entered our lives,
175
00:07:42,103 --> 00:07:43,482
I never get divorced.
176
00:07:49,482 --> 00:07:51,896
[Kristine] They, they're...
They interviewed me
three times
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00:07:51,896 --> 00:07:54,482
with a detective
in a bulletproof vest.
178
00:07:54,482 --> 00:07:56,862
[Michael] What? What are they
gonna charge you with?
179
00:08:02,896 --> 00:08:04,275
[Michael] Kristine, listen--
180
00:08:05,172 --> 00:08:06,689
[Michael sighs]
I'm... Kristine...
181
00:08:06,689 --> 00:08:08,379
Kristine, listen.
Listen to my voice.
182
00:08:08,379 --> 00:08:09,551
I'm done...
183
00:08:10,896 --> 00:08:12,068
[Michael sighs]
184
00:08:17,103 --> 00:08:18,724
We had no idea
what we were dealing with.
185
00:08:18,724 --> 00:08:21,241
And tensions were
so incredibly high.
186
00:08:22,793 --> 00:08:25,448
It was a very rough time,
187
00:08:26,724 --> 00:08:28,241
especially for the children.
188
00:08:30,586 --> 00:08:31,965
[pinball machine cranking]
189
00:08:35,275 --> 00:08:36,551
[Jacob] I'm Jake Barnett.
190
00:08:37,275 --> 00:08:40,688
Since I've last
been seen publicly,
191
00:08:40,688 --> 00:08:43,241
in some ways,
I think I've regressed.
192
00:08:44,620 --> 00:08:47,103
I'm, uh, in my dad's
basement right now.
193
00:08:47,103 --> 00:08:48,344
It's in Indiana.
194
00:08:52,103 --> 00:08:54,724
Usually, I say Natalia's
my adopted sister,
195
00:08:54,724 --> 00:08:56,620
so then, uh,
I guess I would say,
196
00:08:56,620 --> 00:08:58,896
"I'm Jacob. I'm Natalia's
adopted brother,"
197
00:08:58,896 --> 00:09:01,793
but that particular, um,
198
00:09:01,793 --> 00:09:03,896
way of introducing myself
is kind of irrelevant
199
00:09:03,896 --> 00:09:06,689
because I haven't seen Natalia
in, like, a decade.
200
00:09:08,103 --> 00:09:11,793
I find the situation
incredibly confusing.
201
00:09:13,310 --> 00:09:15,620
It's like I wanna know
what happened
202
00:09:15,620 --> 00:09:17,896
and I wanna know
the actual, like, truth
203
00:09:17,896 --> 00:09:20,000
and everyone's motives,
204
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,206
but at the same time, um,
205
00:09:23,206 --> 00:09:25,068
I don't wanna remember that
206
00:09:25,068 --> 00:09:28,793
and I don't want to, um,
207
00:09:28,793 --> 00:09:31,965
have to revisit, um,
208
00:09:32,896 --> 00:09:35,448
a lot of trauma
from my childhood.
209
00:09:37,724 --> 00:09:40,724
It's, uh, difficult for me
to piece together
210
00:09:40,724 --> 00:09:42,862
what happened
with adopting Natalia.
211
00:09:49,482 --> 00:09:52,034
Before Natalia, we had been
married for about 15 years.
212
00:09:52,689 --> 00:09:55,517
It's easily the best
moment in time
213
00:09:55,517 --> 00:09:56,896
that our marriage ever had.
214
00:09:56,896 --> 00:09:59,275
We were so happy
and comfortable
215
00:09:59,275 --> 00:10:02,000
that we had gotten
to the point that, you know,
216
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,275
we started
talking about, "Maybe,
217
00:10:04,275 --> 00:10:06,275
maybe there's room here
for somebody else."
218
00:10:06,275 --> 00:10:09,620
We were gonna adopt
a little girl out of Haiti
named Gilberta,
219
00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:12,482
and right before that April,
220
00:10:12,482 --> 00:10:14,586
uh, the earthquake hit Haiti,
221
00:10:14,586 --> 00:10:17,172
and suddenly
our hopes were dashed
222
00:10:17,172 --> 00:10:20,724
because Haiti shut down all
adoptions out of the country.
223
00:10:20,724 --> 00:10:23,793
So we were ready to adopt,
but we missed our window.
224
00:10:24,724 --> 00:10:27,172
And then we get this
phone call out of nowhere
225
00:10:27,172 --> 00:10:29,103
from this adoption agency
in Florida
226
00:10:29,103 --> 00:10:30,758
called Adoption
by Shepherd Care.
227
00:10:32,275 --> 00:10:34,482
They say, "Hey, we know you.
228
00:10:34,482 --> 00:10:36,586
We've seen your home study.
229
00:10:36,586 --> 00:10:39,103
We know that
you have a charity
for special-needs children,
230
00:10:39,103 --> 00:10:41,000
you've been doing that
for a decade.
231
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,896
We think you'd be perfect
for this little girl
232
00:10:43,896 --> 00:10:46,103
that's gonna be coming to us.
233
00:10:46,103 --> 00:10:48,482
She's a little person.
She has dwarfism.
234
00:10:48,482 --> 00:10:50,068
Now, here's the problem.
235
00:10:50,620 --> 00:10:52,482
You got 24 hours to decide,
236
00:10:53,379 --> 00:10:55,000
and if you don't
come get her on Monday,
237
00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,482
she's going
directly to foster care."
238
00:10:57,482 --> 00:10:59,551
Kristine and I almost took it
as a sign from above.
239
00:11:00,103 --> 00:11:01,586
[engine roars]
240
00:11:04,275 --> 00:11:06,689
Now we're jumped on a plane,
flying to Florida.
241
00:11:07,103 --> 00:11:08,448
It's exciting.
242
00:11:11,517 --> 00:11:14,034
[Jacob] When I found out
I was gonna have a sister,
243
00:11:14,586 --> 00:11:15,862
I was really excited.
244
00:11:16,896 --> 00:11:19,517
We had some white T-shirts
245
00:11:19,517 --> 00:11:22,689
that we painted on saying,
"Welcome home, Natalia."
246
00:11:28,517 --> 00:11:30,000
[Michael] We pull up
in the town,
247
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,379
and, you know, I'll be honest,
248
00:11:31,379 --> 00:11:33,689
I was a little taken aback by
249
00:11:33,689 --> 00:11:36,000
the adoption agency location.
250
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,793
It was in
a rundown strip mall,
251
00:11:41,068 --> 00:11:42,586
maybe on
the wrong side of tracks,
252
00:11:43,586 --> 00:11:47,793
little house that's been
converted into offices.
253
00:11:47,793 --> 00:11:50,000
It didn't look like
an adoption agency at all.
254
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,620
First thing
I'm saying to my wife is,
"Check the address.
255
00:11:53,620 --> 00:11:55,172
This just doesn't look right.
256
00:11:55,172 --> 00:11:56,862
We're gonna get a child here?"
257
00:11:57,620 --> 00:11:58,896
Uh, so we start coming in
258
00:11:58,896 --> 00:12:00,896
and they sit us
into a little room
259
00:12:00,896 --> 00:12:03,310
no bigger than
the size of this room
we're in right now,
260
00:12:03,310 --> 00:12:05,241
and they tell us,
"Just wait here."
261
00:12:05,896 --> 00:12:07,896
Natalia's coming soon."
262
00:12:07,896 --> 00:12:09,103
And you've gotta understand,
263
00:12:09,103 --> 00:12:10,586
with it being
a closed adoption,
264
00:12:10,586 --> 00:12:12,172
the adoption agency
was not willing
265
00:12:12,172 --> 00:12:14,103
to share any details of her
266
00:12:14,103 --> 00:12:15,413
before we came down.
267
00:12:15,413 --> 00:12:17,689
They gave us
two pictures of her.
268
00:12:17,689 --> 00:12:20,793
They gave us
a Ukrainian-language
birth certificate.
269
00:12:21,482 --> 00:12:23,448
Birth certificate
supported six.
270
00:12:23,896 --> 00:12:25,793
Uh, September, 4th, 2003.
271
00:12:25,793 --> 00:12:27,413
We were all
excited about that.
272
00:12:27,413 --> 00:12:29,413
My youngest son was six.
273
00:12:29,413 --> 00:12:31,724
He was also born
in the summer of 2003.
274
00:12:31,724 --> 00:12:34,172
We thought this was
gonna be a situation
275
00:12:34,172 --> 00:12:36,965
where they're going to grow
and develop and be twins.
276
00:12:39,689 --> 00:12:41,793
We're in there for about
an hour by ourselves.
277
00:12:42,482 --> 00:12:44,482
We sign paperwork
pretty quick.
278
00:12:44,482 --> 00:12:46,172
"Sign here, sign here,
sign here."
279
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,482
We hear the front door open.
280
00:12:48,482 --> 00:12:50,000
[door opens]
281
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,620
[Michael]
"That's gotta be her."
282
00:12:51,620 --> 00:12:53,379
We start peeking
through the keyhole.
283
00:12:53,379 --> 00:12:55,310
There's a little
itty-bitty keyhole.
It's a solid door.
284
00:12:55,310 --> 00:12:57,517
And we're looking
and we're looking.
285
00:12:57,517 --> 00:13:00,068
[Jacob] Like,
"Oh, can I see her?"
286
00:13:00,068 --> 00:13:02,344
I was really excited
for her to come home.
287
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,413
About 20, 30 minutes go by,
288
00:13:05,413 --> 00:13:07,172
and we can see the door open
289
00:13:07,172 --> 00:13:10,206
and we can see
the other family leave.
290
00:13:10,206 --> 00:13:12,000
She was adopted before.
291
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:13,965
This was her family that
adopted her the first time.
292
00:13:14,689 --> 00:13:15,896
Natalia's left behind.
293
00:13:15,896 --> 00:13:17,068
They had flown in,
294
00:13:17,586 --> 00:13:19,689
dropped her off, flew out.
295
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,482
We never spoke to them
296
00:13:22,482 --> 00:13:24,103
and we are just thinking,
297
00:13:24,103 --> 00:13:28,241
"How dare these other people
give up on her?"
298
00:13:29,068 --> 00:13:31,172
And we'd been worried
299
00:13:31,172 --> 00:13:34,000
for the last couple of days,
worried sick
300
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,068
that our new daughter's
not gonna like us.
301
00:13:36,068 --> 00:13:38,172
And the next thing you know,
the door opens,
302
00:13:38,896 --> 00:13:40,000
Natalia's right there,
303
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,517
she comes running in,
304
00:13:41,517 --> 00:13:43,482
she's got this big smile
on her face,
305
00:13:43,482 --> 00:13:45,482
she's happy as can be,
306
00:13:45,482 --> 00:13:48,448
and she's shouting,
"Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy,
Mommy, Daddy!"
307
00:13:49,793 --> 00:13:51,517
We're overcome
with joy and emotion.
308
00:13:51,517 --> 00:13:52,586
Oh, my gosh.
309
00:13:52,586 --> 00:13:54,172
That day in and of itself,
310
00:13:54,172 --> 00:13:56,206
without context,
311
00:13:56,206 --> 00:13:58,034
is one of the five
greatest days of my life.
312
00:14:00,275 --> 00:14:02,172
[Jacob] She was very small.
313
00:14:04,103 --> 00:14:06,689
She had long,
curly brown hair.
314
00:14:08,379 --> 00:14:10,482
She had brown eyes
and pronounced cheeks
315
00:14:10,482 --> 00:14:13,241
that really stood out
when she smiled.
316
00:14:15,275 --> 00:14:16,724
I remember the way that
317
00:14:16,724 --> 00:14:19,586
her hands are jointed
318
00:14:19,586 --> 00:14:22,517
as not the same as ours
319
00:14:22,517 --> 00:14:23,896
because of her dwarfism.
320
00:14:23,896 --> 00:14:25,103
Like, her fingers, like,
321
00:14:25,103 --> 00:14:27,448
sort of bent in
a bit like this.
322
00:14:28,413 --> 00:14:31,172
But I was overjoyed
the day that I met her.
323
00:14:33,103 --> 00:14:35,103
The fun times I can remember
with Natalia
324
00:14:35,103 --> 00:14:37,689
are pretty much
from that first week
where we were in Florida.
325
00:14:39,517 --> 00:14:41,965
We went with Natalia
to Disney World.
326
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,517
We were all excited
to have her in the family
327
00:14:45,517 --> 00:14:49,344
and Natalia seemed happy
to join our family.
328
00:14:50,413 --> 00:14:53,586
[Rachel]
If I was a little girl
needing to be adopted
329
00:14:54,103 --> 00:14:56,413
and they came for me,
330
00:14:56,413 --> 00:14:58,793
heck yeah, jackpot.
331
00:15:01,586 --> 00:15:03,517
[Michael] So, we get to
the hotel that night,
332
00:15:03,517 --> 00:15:07,344
and Kristine's going to give
our brand-new daughter a bath
333
00:15:08,275 --> 00:15:10,448
and I hear a shout
from the bathroom.
334
00:15:13,172 --> 00:15:15,724
This was a,
"I'm not playing around.
335
00:15:15,724 --> 00:15:18,206
Come here right now,
Michael," shout.
336
00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:21,103
I get up, I go flying
to the bathroom,
337
00:15:21,103 --> 00:15:24,241
and the color's almost
gone from her face.
338
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:26,793
It's almost like
she's seen a ghost.
339
00:15:26,793 --> 00:15:28,896
She's, she's truly frightened
340
00:15:28,896 --> 00:15:30,896
and she just doesn't know
what she's seeing
341
00:15:30,896 --> 00:15:32,172
and what's going on.
342
00:15:32,172 --> 00:15:34,793
She says,
"Michael, Michael, look.
343
00:15:35,793 --> 00:15:37,000
Look down."
344
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,793
And Natalia
had full pubic hair.
345
00:15:39,793 --> 00:15:43,137
And I don't know
what to think.
346
00:15:44,793 --> 00:15:47,586
"Is that possible?
Is that even possible?"
347
00:15:50,379 --> 00:15:51,758
"Who the [bleep]
is this person?"
348
00:15:56,689 --> 00:15:59,172
"Can a 6-year-old
have full pubic hair?
I don't know."
349
00:15:59,172 --> 00:16:02,172
Google's telling us,
"Well, earliest possible time,
350
00:16:02,172 --> 00:16:04,241
lowest common
denominator, eight."
351
00:16:05,275 --> 00:16:07,275
So we just go, "Okay, look,
our mission,
352
00:16:07,275 --> 00:16:09,103
we were going to show
love and compassion
353
00:16:09,103 --> 00:16:10,793
to somebody that
never had it before.
354
00:16:10,793 --> 00:16:12,448
That doesn't
make a difference."
355
00:16:18,379 --> 00:16:19,931
[Kathy] I'm Kathy Barnett.
356
00:16:19,931 --> 00:16:21,758
I'm Michael Barnett's mother.
357
00:16:23,482 --> 00:16:26,068
I found out
that Natalia was coming.
358
00:16:27,172 --> 00:16:29,103
I was so excited
359
00:16:29,103 --> 00:16:32,172
to treat this child special.
360
00:16:32,172 --> 00:16:33,758
When they brought her home,
361
00:16:33,758 --> 00:16:37,379
they had a very large party
to welcome her.
362
00:16:37,379 --> 00:16:39,758
She was dressed up in a dress.
363
00:16:39,758 --> 00:16:42,482
She had beautiful,
curly, dark hair.
364
00:16:42,482 --> 00:16:44,586
And Michael
was euphoric that day.
365
00:16:44,586 --> 00:16:47,103
He was almost
as euphoric as the day
Jacob was born
366
00:16:47,103 --> 00:16:49,172
and Michael came out of
the delivery room.
367
00:16:49,172 --> 00:16:50,655
He was a happy man.
368
00:16:52,103 --> 00:16:54,344
You want that?
There you go. Go sit and chew.
369
00:16:54,862 --> 00:16:56,068
Go show him.
370
00:16:56,862 --> 00:16:58,689
My name's Kimberly Franklin.
371
00:16:58,689 --> 00:17:01,344
I am Michael Barnett's
little sister.
372
00:17:01,931 --> 00:17:03,482
When I first met Natalia,
373
00:17:03,482 --> 00:17:05,172
I was, you know,
totally prepared.
374
00:17:05,172 --> 00:17:07,378
I knew that she was
a little person.
375
00:17:07,378 --> 00:17:09,378
And what really
struck me, though,
376
00:17:09,378 --> 00:17:11,758
was that she almost
looked like one of us.
377
00:17:11,758 --> 00:17:13,000
She had the dark hair.
378
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:14,482
She really looked like
379
00:17:14,482 --> 00:17:16,172
she could've been
my brother's daughter.
380
00:17:21,689 --> 00:17:23,172
[Rachel] My name's Rachel
381
00:17:23,172 --> 00:17:26,378
and I live two doors down
from the Barnetts,
382
00:17:26,378 --> 00:17:27,758
where they used to live.
383
00:17:28,758 --> 00:17:31,000
Nosy neighbor, that's me.
384
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,068
I like to know what's going on
in the neighborhood.
385
00:17:38,758 --> 00:17:40,758
We were friends
with Michael and Kristine
386
00:17:42,379 --> 00:17:43,758
and our kids played together.
387
00:17:44,586 --> 00:17:46,275
Everybody knew
who Natalia was.
388
00:17:46,275 --> 00:17:48,413
I have goosebumps
just thinking about
389
00:17:48,413 --> 00:17:49,931
when they walked in with her.
390
00:17:49,931 --> 00:17:51,551
It was amazing.
391
00:17:52,517 --> 00:17:54,275
It was so uplifting
392
00:17:54,275 --> 00:17:56,000
to know that this little girl
needed a home
393
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,793
and they opened theirs
up to her.
394
00:17:57,793 --> 00:17:59,931
-[Kristine] Hi, Natalia.
-[Natalia] Hi!
395
00:17:59,931 --> 00:18:03,482
And Kristine was smiling,
you know, ear-to-ear.
396
00:18:03,482 --> 00:18:06,241
They were so excited.
They have three boys,
and they got a girl.
397
00:18:09,931 --> 00:18:11,931
[Jacob] I was looking forward
to seeing how
398
00:18:11,931 --> 00:18:14,103
she'd react to the park
we had across the street.
399
00:18:14,103 --> 00:18:15,551
[children laughing, screaming]
400
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,172
[Rachel sighs]
401
00:18:19,172 --> 00:18:20,827
Here's their yearbook.
402
00:18:22,758 --> 00:18:24,482
So, there's Ethan
403
00:18:24,482 --> 00:18:26,275
and there's Grace.
404
00:18:26,275 --> 00:18:27,689
Natalia came
to our house a lot
405
00:18:27,689 --> 00:18:29,000
to play with my daughter Grace
406
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,275
because they were both six.
407
00:18:33,275 --> 00:18:34,655
First grade.
408
00:18:35,482 --> 00:18:36,827
Here's Natalia.
409
00:18:39,517 --> 00:18:40,827
It's crazy.
410
00:18:41,517 --> 00:18:43,000
She's so cute in that picture.
411
00:18:43,758 --> 00:18:45,551
She looks like
a sweet little girl.
412
00:18:46,931 --> 00:18:49,172
[Michael] Once we got back
to Indiana,
413
00:18:49,172 --> 00:18:51,620
at first, there was
a lot of acceptance
414
00:18:51,620 --> 00:18:56,103
of the situation with Natalia
and the pubic hair.
415
00:18:56,103 --> 00:18:59,655
All that mattered was
there's a little girl...
416
00:19:00,758 --> 00:19:03,000
[Michael] ...that needs love
and needs a home.
417
00:19:05,689 --> 00:19:07,000
But, uh, eventually,
418
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,000
we had a lot of
escalation going on
419
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:10,965
in the first few months
that we had her.
420
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,241
There was a day
I came home from work.
421
00:19:15,172 --> 00:19:17,000
Kristine's got a pair
of Natalia's underwear.
422
00:19:18,172 --> 00:19:20,931
Kristine asked Natalia
to tell me what's going on.
423
00:19:25,275 --> 00:19:26,344
[Kristine] Okay.
424
00:19:27,482 --> 00:19:30,931
And I can remember
her physicalness at the time.
425
00:19:30,931 --> 00:19:32,931
Her hands were just
out in front of her like this.
426
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,482
She said, "Well..."
427
00:19:37,172 --> 00:19:39,379
[clicks tongue]
"...I have a period..."
428
00:19:39,379 --> 00:19:42,689
[clicks tongue]
"...and I've been hiding it."
429
00:19:48,931 --> 00:19:50,448
And I...
430
00:19:51,862 --> 00:19:53,965
I just don't know
what's going on right now.
431
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,482
[woman on phone]
Kris found some socks
432
00:20:00,482 --> 00:20:02,482
that she had used
in her underwear
433
00:20:02,482 --> 00:20:04,000
and threw them out the window.
434
00:20:04,758 --> 00:20:07,620
Kris was just mortified.
435
00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:11,275
She said, "This isn't normal.
What have I gotten
myself into?"
436
00:20:11,275 --> 00:20:14,172
And so I said,
"You need to start finding out
how old she is."
437
00:20:15,620 --> 00:20:18,862
I heard she had pubic hair
when they first got her
438
00:20:18,862 --> 00:20:21,586
and that they found, like,
period underwear
439
00:20:21,586 --> 00:20:23,172
hidden in her room.
440
00:20:23,172 --> 00:20:24,793
So that would be
the thing that,
441
00:20:24,793 --> 00:20:27,000
as, you know, not a doctor,
as a layman,
442
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,551
I'd be like, "Yeah, that's
definitely not a 6-year-old."
443
00:20:31,482 --> 00:20:33,172
-[Kristine] Stand up.
-Okay.
444
00:20:33,172 --> 00:20:34,862
[Michael] After we'd first
gotten Natalia
445
00:20:34,862 --> 00:20:36,275
and we started
taking her to doctors,
446
00:20:36,275 --> 00:20:38,172
within two months
of getting her,
447
00:20:38,172 --> 00:20:41,482
Natalia needed foot surgery
because of her condition.
448
00:20:41,482 --> 00:20:43,103
Natalia has
a very rare form of dwarfism,
449
00:20:43,103 --> 00:20:45,000
spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia.
450
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,275
There's only about
3,400 people like that
on this planet,
451
00:20:48,275 --> 00:20:50,896
-we were explained by doctors.
-[woman] Mmm-hmm.
452
00:20:50,896 --> 00:20:53,344
It just so happened,
miraculously,
453
00:20:54,275 --> 00:20:56,000
that a doctor knew
454
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,482
another 6-year-old girl with
spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia
455
00:20:59,482 --> 00:21:00,758
living in Indiana.
456
00:21:01,931 --> 00:21:03,172
We were stunned.
457
00:21:04,103 --> 00:21:05,931
We're gonna have her meet
and interact
458
00:21:05,931 --> 00:21:07,931
with somebody just like her.
459
00:21:08,275 --> 00:21:10,000
How great is that?
460
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,758
The other girl comes in
461
00:21:13,482 --> 00:21:16,172
and, for lack of
a better term,
462
00:21:16,172 --> 00:21:17,931
Natalia is gigantic
463
00:21:17,931 --> 00:21:19,758
compared to this other girl.
464
00:21:24,172 --> 00:21:26,068
Their cranial structures
are different.
465
00:21:27,275 --> 00:21:29,758
Natalia, she's got
the full forehead of an adult,
466
00:21:29,758 --> 00:21:31,965
she's got the fine cheekbones
of an adult.
467
00:21:33,758 --> 00:21:36,689
The other girl, her head
is not developed at all.
468
00:21:37,689 --> 00:21:39,413
There's no way anybody
could look at this picture
469
00:21:39,413 --> 00:21:41,827
and say, "Those two
are the same age."
470
00:21:42,931 --> 00:21:45,620
So, when Natalia sees
this person
471
00:21:45,620 --> 00:21:47,758
that should be close to
the mirror image of her
472
00:21:48,275 --> 00:21:51,896
and realizes we see it,
473
00:21:51,896 --> 00:21:54,448
suddenly, she fills
her cheeks with air,
474
00:21:55,275 --> 00:21:56,758
blows them out a little bit
475
00:21:56,758 --> 00:21:59,379
so the definition in
her cheekbones disappears,
476
00:21:59,379 --> 00:22:03,172
so that starts to happen.
477
00:22:04,103 --> 00:22:07,689
We literally see
her head change.
478
00:22:10,931 --> 00:22:13,586
It's almost like,
"You got me."
479
00:22:22,586 --> 00:22:24,896
[Elva] My name is Elva Reyes.
480
00:22:24,896 --> 00:22:26,379
My daughter's name is Therese.
481
00:22:26,379 --> 00:22:28,689
Uh, she has
diastrophic dysplasia,
482
00:22:28,689 --> 00:22:30,379
the same as Natalia.
483
00:22:30,379 --> 00:22:32,931
I was hoping, you know,
that, uh,
484
00:22:32,931 --> 00:22:35,275
a long friendship, you know,
485
00:22:35,275 --> 00:22:37,172
where they can grow up and,
486
00:22:37,172 --> 00:22:38,482
you know, she has somebody
487
00:22:38,482 --> 00:22:40,862
to be able
to talk about things.
488
00:22:40,862 --> 00:22:42,275
That mean it's not, you know,
489
00:22:42,275 --> 00:22:44,862
something that
she has to feel like
490
00:22:44,862 --> 00:22:46,758
she's the only one
in the world.
491
00:22:46,758 --> 00:22:49,931
Uh, but, later on,
when we met for the playday,
492
00:22:49,931 --> 00:22:51,758
immediately, Natalia looks...
493
00:22:51,758 --> 00:22:53,379
Physically, was really
well developed.
494
00:22:53,379 --> 00:22:55,896
My first impression was like,
495
00:22:55,896 --> 00:22:58,896
"Your face doesn't
look like a little kid."
496
00:22:58,896 --> 00:23:00,758
Can't really say an adult,
497
00:23:00,758 --> 00:23:02,344
but at least a teenager.
498
00:23:04,896 --> 00:23:07,689
And I say, "Huh, so..."
499
00:23:07,689 --> 00:23:10,172
Yes, but... And she was
very vocal, talking,
500
00:23:10,172 --> 00:23:11,344
you know, like,
501
00:23:12,586 --> 00:23:14,379
she can carry
a conversation very well,
502
00:23:14,379 --> 00:23:16,103
like, didn't have no issue.
503
00:23:16,103 --> 00:23:18,931
I was like,
"Wow, they teach her
very good English."
504
00:23:18,931 --> 00:23:21,379
[laughs] A very smart kid
for a 6-year-old.
505
00:23:21,379 --> 00:23:22,758
[keyboard playing]
506
00:23:26,896 --> 00:23:28,586
[Therese] I am Therese
507
00:23:28,586 --> 00:23:30,448
and I am 14 years old.
508
00:23:32,275 --> 00:23:35,241
I was six years old
when I met Natalia.
509
00:23:36,586 --> 00:23:38,482
It's pretty rare
to see someone
510
00:23:38,482 --> 00:23:40,172
who has a disability like me
511
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,482
and I wanted to be friends.
512
00:23:53,862 --> 00:23:55,862
-[producer] I have
a picture of you guys.
-Mmm-hmm.
513
00:23:58,413 --> 00:23:59,655
Sure.
514
00:24:04,103 --> 00:24:07,482
Definitely, I don't think she
looked the same age as me.
515
00:24:07,482 --> 00:24:10,413
I definitely had that
baby look to my face and,
516
00:24:10,413 --> 00:24:13,586
as she kinda gave me, like,
517
00:24:13,586 --> 00:24:16,758
an older kinda face
look to it,
518
00:24:16,758 --> 00:24:17,931
but, yeah.
519
00:24:22,896 --> 00:24:24,482
I think she
definitely looks like
520
00:24:24,482 --> 00:24:28,965
she's at least 18, 20-ish.
521
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,931
It definitely looks weird
to think that
522
00:24:33,931 --> 00:24:36,758
I was playing with,
actually, an adult,
523
00:24:36,758 --> 00:24:38,689
not a kid my age
524
00:24:38,689 --> 00:24:40,655
that I would feel
comfortable with.
525
00:24:41,862 --> 00:24:44,103
If she faked her age,
526
00:24:44,103 --> 00:24:46,379
I feel like that's weird
to think that
527
00:24:46,379 --> 00:24:48,586
I was around someone
who did that.
528
00:24:51,931 --> 00:24:53,172
[Michael] She's not six.
529
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,068
We had no idea
what we were dealing with.
530
00:24:57,172 --> 00:24:59,379
To them,
it would've looked like
531
00:24:59,379 --> 00:25:01,000
they brought their little girl
532
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,827
to a playdate with a grownup.
533
00:25:04,758 --> 00:25:07,689
And they never
reached back out again.
534
00:25:18,241 --> 00:25:21,000
[Jacob] Natalia told us
very little about her time
535
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,655
growing up in the Ukraine,
536
00:25:23,172 --> 00:25:25,310
her time in the orphanage.
537
00:25:26,862 --> 00:25:29,586
I don't recall her having
538
00:25:29,586 --> 00:25:31,379
any belongings
from the orphanage.
539
00:25:31,379 --> 00:25:35,482
Like, uh, I don't recall her
having any Ukrainian toys.
540
00:25:35,482 --> 00:25:37,965
She didn't seem to know
very much about Ukraine.
541
00:25:37,965 --> 00:25:40,965
Like, uh, at one point, early,
we asked her, like,
542
00:25:40,965 --> 00:25:42,965
"Oh, what's it like
in Ukraine?"
543
00:25:42,965 --> 00:25:45,103
And she said, "Oh,
it's always summer there."
And I'm like...
544
00:25:45,103 --> 00:25:46,586
[European folk music playing]
545
00:25:46,586 --> 00:25:48,241
"Hmm, okay, uh..."
546
00:25:48,241 --> 00:25:49,551
[Jake chuckling]
547
00:25:54,482 --> 00:25:57,448
I forget the part that
you guys never hear.
548
00:26:00,586 --> 00:26:02,034
Yeah. Heard.
549
00:26:06,034 --> 00:26:07,482
[Michael] We adopted Natalia
550
00:26:07,482 --> 00:26:09,965
because we wanted
to help somebody
551
00:26:09,965 --> 00:26:13,655
who was in danger
of never being loved.
552
00:26:15,275 --> 00:26:18,275
But every time we ever
spoke to Natalia about,
553
00:26:18,275 --> 00:26:20,482
"Hey, tell us
about the orphanage,
554
00:26:20,482 --> 00:26:22,206
tell us about
people you've known,"
555
00:26:24,379 --> 00:26:25,620
nothing.
556
00:26:26,965 --> 00:26:29,137
So we had asked her about
the Ukrainian language before.
557
00:26:29,137 --> 00:26:31,000
As a matter of fact,
at the rec center
558
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,896
where we had our sports league
for the autistic kids,
559
00:26:33,896 --> 00:26:35,482
one of the neighboring tenants
560
00:26:35,482 --> 00:26:36,896
happens to know somebody
561
00:26:36,896 --> 00:26:39,448
who was born and raised
in the Ukraine.
562
00:26:40,862 --> 00:26:43,137
We thought, "How wonderful
would it be
563
00:26:43,137 --> 00:26:45,689
for you to hear
your native language,
your native tongue
564
00:26:45,689 --> 00:26:48,586
for the first time
in a couple of years?"
565
00:26:48,586 --> 00:26:50,103
The woman from the Ukraine
comes in
566
00:26:51,137 --> 00:26:54,206
and just immediately starts
speaking Ukrainian.
567
00:26:56,344 --> 00:26:58,000
I swear on all things holy,
568
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,931
Natalia's never heard a word
of Ukrainian in her life.
569
00:27:01,586 --> 00:27:03,965
But you were there
until almost five
570
00:27:05,275 --> 00:27:07,862
and we've got you at six.
571
00:27:09,241 --> 00:27:12,827
There was like a set of things
that didn't add up.
572
00:27:14,137 --> 00:27:18,103
We starter...
Started early in the morning.
573
00:27:18,103 --> 00:27:20,793
Natalia had no accent.
574
00:27:20,793 --> 00:27:24,379
Were going close.
575
00:27:24,379 --> 00:27:26,551
[Jacob] She didn't know
the Cyrillic alphabet.
576
00:27:27,137 --> 00:27:29,034
She knew no Ukrainian.
577
00:27:31,241 --> 00:27:33,758
[Michael] Ukrainian lady
starts speaking Ukrainian
to Natalia.
578
00:27:34,379 --> 00:27:35,551
Not a word.
579
00:27:36,689 --> 00:27:38,965
I think she knew,
if she spoke immediately,
580
00:27:39,586 --> 00:27:41,034
that we'd put
two and two together
581
00:27:41,034 --> 00:27:44,034
and hear there's no accent.
582
00:27:44,034 --> 00:27:46,103
She doesn't know this.
583
00:27:46,103 --> 00:27:47,827
Didn't speak a word
for four days.
584
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,034
It's almost like
the jig is up,
585
00:27:52,034 --> 00:27:54,965
the little playful
kid face goes away
586
00:27:55,586 --> 00:27:56,827
and now we've got...
587
00:28:01,793 --> 00:28:03,310
We don't know who she is.
588
00:28:04,379 --> 00:28:06,379
We don't know
where she's really from.
589
00:28:06,379 --> 00:28:08,586
For all I know, she had been
living in the Ukraine
for 20 years
590
00:28:08,586 --> 00:28:10,000
and found a way out.
591
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,896
For all I know,
she's an American citizen
592
00:28:11,896 --> 00:28:14,137
that somehow
got this to happen.
593
00:28:14,137 --> 00:28:17,448
I truly, truly don't know.
594
00:28:26,586 --> 00:28:30,689
The dynamic between Natalia
and the rest of the family
seemed to shift.
595
00:28:30,689 --> 00:28:33,862
Pretty early,
there was a lack of trust.
596
00:28:34,482 --> 00:28:35,655
Uh...
597
00:28:36,793 --> 00:28:39,206
So that, you know, compounded.
598
00:28:48,275 --> 00:28:51,965
Natalia did have
behavioral issues which...
599
00:28:53,482 --> 00:28:56,551
Certainly, the adoption
process, um,
600
00:28:57,379 --> 00:28:58,965
it must be traumatic.
601
00:28:58,965 --> 00:29:00,586
I mean, abandonment issues
are a thing
602
00:29:00,586 --> 00:29:05,103
and Natalia was abandoned
multiple times.
603
00:29:05,103 --> 00:29:08,241
She was with
another family in America
604
00:29:08,241 --> 00:29:09,551
before she came with us.
605
00:29:11,241 --> 00:29:13,241
[Michael] Natalia was with us
four months,
606
00:29:14,689 --> 00:29:18,655
and that's when we start
to witness her dark side.
607
00:29:20,482 --> 00:29:22,862
We had a 2007 Jeep Commander.
608
00:29:22,862 --> 00:29:24,103
It has three rows of seats.
609
00:29:24,103 --> 00:29:25,689
But Natalia always tried
610
00:29:25,689 --> 00:29:27,689
to sit next to my youngest,
the smallest,
611
00:29:27,689 --> 00:29:29,586
my 6-year-old, Ethan.
612
00:29:29,586 --> 00:29:33,793
And she would do
whatever she could
to upset him.
613
00:29:33,793 --> 00:29:37,689
She would purposely wait
until she was next to him
in the car
614
00:29:37,689 --> 00:29:40,413
and then she would do her best
to urinate on him.
615
00:29:41,103 --> 00:29:42,689
She would defecate in the car
616
00:29:42,689 --> 00:29:44,103
and put her hand into it
617
00:29:44,103 --> 00:29:45,793
and try to smear it on Ethan.
618
00:29:45,793 --> 00:29:48,793
Yeah, it was
a frequent occurrence
619
00:29:48,793 --> 00:29:52,103
for Natalia to soil surfaces
620
00:29:52,103 --> 00:29:53,758
that she wasn't supposed to.
621
00:30:00,379 --> 00:30:03,034
That was the life
my 6-year-old son had.
622
00:30:03,034 --> 00:30:07,000
To get into the car
was like going through
the haunted house.
623
00:30:09,689 --> 00:30:11,034
And, you know, another thing,
624
00:30:11,034 --> 00:30:12,482
if we went someplace in public
625
00:30:12,482 --> 00:30:14,482
and she made eye contact
with somebody
626
00:30:14,482 --> 00:30:16,103
we'd climb into the car,
627
00:30:16,103 --> 00:30:18,379
she would get into the car,
she'd get in her seat,
628
00:30:18,379 --> 00:30:20,241
she'd close the door.
629
00:30:20,241 --> 00:30:22,793
As soon as I would start
to get into my seat
630
00:30:22,793 --> 00:30:24,689
and the car
would get into gear,
631
00:30:24,689 --> 00:30:27,482
doors open
and she's throwing herself
out of the vehicle
632
00:30:27,482 --> 00:30:29,448
so people around her can see.
633
00:30:33,689 --> 00:30:36,379
The idea, "Look, a poor,
helpless little girl."
634
00:30:36,379 --> 00:30:38,241
And she was trying to get back
635
00:30:38,241 --> 00:30:40,551
to poor,
helpless little girl status.
636
00:30:43,379 --> 00:30:45,689
She was doing
as many things as possible
637
00:30:45,689 --> 00:30:48,034
to cause hurt of harm
638
00:30:48,034 --> 00:30:50,482
or mental distress
to the entire family.
639
00:30:50,482 --> 00:30:53,689
She's been with us
for about five or six months
at this point,
640
00:30:53,689 --> 00:30:56,655
and at this time,
my boys are six, nine and 11.
641
00:30:57,793 --> 00:31:01,793
Natalia would find things
that were important to them,
642
00:31:01,793 --> 00:31:03,482
like a Hot Wheel car,
643
00:31:03,482 --> 00:31:06,896
she'd hide them,
she'd wait to be
crossing the street,
644
00:31:06,896 --> 00:31:09,448
she would throw 'em
into the street
and make sure the boys saw it.
645
00:31:09,896 --> 00:31:12,034
She was baiting my kids
646
00:31:12,034 --> 00:31:14,275
to run into traffic
so they'd get run over.
647
00:31:14,275 --> 00:31:15,655
[horn blares]
648
00:31:16,586 --> 00:31:18,000
I can't put into words
649
00:31:18,482 --> 00:31:21,586
the everyday abject horror
650
00:31:21,586 --> 00:31:23,206
that we had to go through
and live with.
651
00:31:26,034 --> 00:31:28,241
[Jacob] And there certainly
was, like, a lot of fear.
652
00:31:30,241 --> 00:31:34,551
Like, "What if Natalia
actually harms one of us?"
653
00:31:37,793 --> 00:31:41,655
[Michael]
Couple of weeks after that,
I came home from work.
654
00:31:42,965 --> 00:31:44,586
She had been taking knives
out of the kitchen
655
00:31:44,586 --> 00:31:46,827
and hiding them in her room
under her bed.
656
00:31:49,172 --> 00:31:50,862
I go upstairs.
657
00:31:50,862 --> 00:31:52,482
Kristine has the knife.
658
00:31:52,482 --> 00:31:54,551
It was a big butcher knife.
659
00:31:56,862 --> 00:31:59,896
[Jacob] Natalia was hoarding
knives in her room
660
00:31:59,896 --> 00:32:02,034
and had, like,
intentions to attack us.
661
00:32:05,482 --> 00:32:07,413
[Michael] I asked Natalia,
"Natalia,
662
00:32:08,482 --> 00:32:10,000
did you have this
under your bed?"
663
00:32:10,482 --> 00:32:11,655
"Yes."
664
00:32:14,172 --> 00:32:15,758
"What were you
gonna do with it?"
665
00:32:17,034 --> 00:32:19,827
"I'm going to kill you
in your sleep."
666
00:32:25,275 --> 00:32:26,551
[birds tweeting]
667
00:32:28,689 --> 00:32:29,862
[dog barking]
668
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,896
[Rachel] Michael and Kristine
weren't very vocal
669
00:32:33,896 --> 00:32:37,034
about this stuff at first
with Natalia
670
00:32:37,793 --> 00:32:40,620
until it got overwhelming,
671
00:32:41,379 --> 00:32:44,896
and that's when Kristine
came and told me
672
00:32:44,896 --> 00:32:46,655
and sat down on my front porch
673
00:32:47,586 --> 00:32:48,965
with Wesley and Ethan
674
00:32:49,586 --> 00:32:51,758
and shared what was going on.
675
00:32:53,379 --> 00:32:54,793
Kristine was crying.
676
00:32:54,793 --> 00:32:56,172
She was very upset,
677
00:32:56,172 --> 00:32:58,965
saying that Natalia wasn't
678
00:33:00,068 --> 00:33:02,344
who they thought she was.
679
00:33:02,344 --> 00:33:05,551
And I said,
"Well, what do you mean?"
680
00:33:05,551 --> 00:33:06,793
And she said...
681
00:33:06,793 --> 00:33:08,034
[inhales]
682
00:33:09,344 --> 00:33:10,758
..."Knives."
683
00:33:11,896 --> 00:33:13,241
She had knives in her room.
684
00:33:15,689 --> 00:33:17,068
The boys were like,
"Yeah. Yeah.
685
00:33:17,068 --> 00:33:19,482
This is really
happening. Yeah.
686
00:33:19,482 --> 00:33:21,344
This is... Natalia's
really doing that,"
687
00:33:21,344 --> 00:33:24,758
This is the time when
I backed away from them
688
00:33:25,379 --> 00:33:28,793
because I was just
in so much shock
689
00:33:28,793 --> 00:33:30,448
from hearing this story.
690
00:33:30,448 --> 00:33:33,551
I went to Grace and said,
691
00:33:33,551 --> 00:33:36,000
"You know what?
We need to find some new
friends to play with,"
692
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,413
'cause I didn't wanna have
anything to do with
that little girl.
693
00:33:39,896 --> 00:33:41,655
I didn't wanna have
anything to do with her.
694
00:33:42,275 --> 00:33:44,344
She wasn't welcome
in our house.
695
00:33:44,344 --> 00:33:46,344
I didn't want her to try
killing my daughter or me.
696
00:33:49,068 --> 00:33:50,344
[birds tweeting]
697
00:33:56,482 --> 00:33:58,344
[Kimberly] Michael really
only told me
698
00:33:58,344 --> 00:34:00,793
by the time they'd
gone through all these things
699
00:34:00,793 --> 00:34:02,758
that he was afraid.
700
00:34:03,793 --> 00:34:05,137
Whether that meant he was
701
00:34:05,137 --> 00:34:08,447
afraid of what
she would do or could do,
702
00:34:08,447 --> 00:34:09,896
or any of that,
703
00:34:09,896 --> 00:34:12,034
I knew that there was fear.
704
00:34:14,172 --> 00:34:17,000
[Michael] Absolutely,
we reached out
to the adoption agency
705
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,137
as we were noticing
all of these issues
and irregularities.
706
00:34:21,172 --> 00:34:22,413
They were unhelpful.
707
00:34:23,896 --> 00:34:25,379
I was lost.
708
00:34:25,379 --> 00:34:27,688
I was getting no help
from anybody anywhere.
709
00:34:27,688 --> 00:34:30,068
So we went through
a few therapists,
710
00:34:30,068 --> 00:34:31,688
trying to find guidance,
711
00:34:31,688 --> 00:34:33,413
trying to figure out
the right diagnosis.
712
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,413
[Kristine] Go inside.
713
00:34:37,275 --> 00:34:39,896
[Michael] It was really
the third or fourth
therapist we got to
714
00:34:39,896 --> 00:34:44,068
that seemed to understand
what we were telling them
715
00:34:44,068 --> 00:34:45,585
and seemed to have
Natalia's number.
716
00:34:45,585 --> 00:34:47,757
She pulled Kristine
and I aside and said,
717
00:34:49,275 --> 00:34:51,516
"You're all in
extreme danger."
718
00:34:52,482 --> 00:34:55,137
At that point in time,
we already knew that.
719
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:57,448
We had been living that.
720
00:34:58,586 --> 00:35:02,034
So we were not stunned
at the danger,
721
00:35:02,034 --> 00:35:03,655
but we were stunned
at the diagnosis.
722
00:35:04,689 --> 00:35:07,344
We were expecting
a severe mental disorder
723
00:35:07,344 --> 00:35:08,793
that was out of her control.
724
00:35:08,793 --> 00:35:10,344
We were
expecting schizophrenia.
725
00:35:10,896 --> 00:35:12,448
We were expecting something.
726
00:35:12,448 --> 00:35:14,482
We were expecting her to say,
"She hears voices.
727
00:35:14,482 --> 00:35:17,241
She's hearing commands
telling her to do this stuff."
728
00:35:18,551 --> 00:35:20,758
So she tells us,
"She's a sociopath.
729
00:35:25,793 --> 00:35:28,517
She does things that you and I
would consider crazy.
730
00:35:29,379 --> 00:35:30,793
But it's a plan.
731
00:35:30,793 --> 00:35:32,034
She knows what she's doing.
732
00:35:32,034 --> 00:35:33,965
She's in control of doing it.
733
00:35:34,793 --> 00:35:37,689
It's not a diagnosis
where she's out of control
734
00:35:37,689 --> 00:35:39,034
and she can really be helped.
735
00:35:39,034 --> 00:35:41,344
She's a sociopath."
736
00:35:43,172 --> 00:35:45,620
That was the first moment from
a clinician that we heard,
737
00:35:46,793 --> 00:35:48,793
"You can't help here."
738
00:35:48,793 --> 00:35:51,068
You're 12 years old
and you're...
739
00:35:51,068 --> 00:35:52,793
You know,
just down the hallway is,
740
00:35:52,793 --> 00:35:54,241
is someone
who's living with you
741
00:35:54,241 --> 00:35:55,896
who actively wants
to harm you. That's very,
742
00:35:55,896 --> 00:35:59,068
That's a very scary feeling.
743
00:35:59,068 --> 00:36:01,206
And I definitely didn't
feel safe around Natalia.
744
00:36:01,689 --> 00:36:04,413
I just was scared.
745
00:36:11,068 --> 00:36:12,517
[Michael] There was one night,
746
00:36:13,689 --> 00:36:15,206
about two o'clock
in the morning,
747
00:36:15,689 --> 00:36:16,965
we hear a noise.
748
00:36:18,448 --> 00:36:21,241
Kristine nudges me
and wakes me up.
749
00:36:21,241 --> 00:36:23,482
And I jump up,
I go looking for the noise,
750
00:36:23,482 --> 00:36:26,000
can't find it here,
I can't find it there,
751
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,517
I go down the hall
to Natalia's room,
open the door.
752
00:36:31,275 --> 00:36:32,517
It's dark.
753
00:36:34,068 --> 00:36:36,551
She's standing dead-center
in the middle of the room
754
00:36:37,793 --> 00:36:40,000
with a blank look on her face.
755
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,862
"Natalia, what are you doing?"
756
00:36:45,241 --> 00:36:46,517
"I'm waiting."
757
00:36:49,896 --> 00:36:51,413
"Waiting for what?"
758
00:36:53,482 --> 00:36:54,862
"For you to go to sleep."
759
00:37:00,586 --> 00:37:01,896
It was absolutely shocking
760
00:37:01,896 --> 00:37:06,448
to hear that an adopted child
761
00:37:06,448 --> 00:37:10,586
was threatening
the lives of her siblings
and her parents.
762
00:37:10,586 --> 00:37:12,862
I mean, it was really
disturbing to hear.
763
00:37:16,379 --> 00:37:19,896
[Michael] One night,
asleep in bed,
everything's fine,
764
00:37:19,896 --> 00:37:22,275
I hear a little noise,
I open my eyes,
765
00:37:22,275 --> 00:37:24,517
and Natalia's standing
at the foot of the bed
766
00:37:25,172 --> 00:37:26,620
with a knife in her hand.
767
00:37:29,344 --> 00:37:30,965
What's going on?
768
00:37:31,793 --> 00:37:34,448
How much danger
are we really in here?
769
00:37:35,689 --> 00:37:38,344
Was I about to die?
What Kristine about to die?
770
00:37:38,344 --> 00:37:39,103
Were my kids about to die?
771
00:37:44,586 --> 00:37:46,103
I open my eyes,
772
00:37:46,103 --> 00:37:48,827
and Natalia's standing
at the foot of the bed
773
00:37:49,379 --> 00:37:50,620
with a knife in her hand.
774
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,000
No idea what she's thinking.
775
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,965
No idea what's
going through her head.
776
00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,448
I'm frozen.
777
00:38:00,275 --> 00:38:03,413
"Natalia, what are you doing?"
778
00:38:04,586 --> 00:38:05,724
"Nothing."
779
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,344
"Why are you in here?"
780
00:38:10,655 --> 00:38:11,862
"I don't know."
781
00:38:11,862 --> 00:38:14,517
There's just this blank look.
782
00:38:15,103 --> 00:38:16,655
There's no emotion.
783
00:38:16,655 --> 00:38:19,000
[stutters] There's no feeling
going through her.
784
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:20,448
It's just this blankness.
785
00:38:21,344 --> 00:38:22,931
"I don't know
what I'm doing here."
786
00:38:23,655 --> 00:38:25,448
"Natalia, put that down
right now."
787
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,241
And she did.
788
00:38:28,172 --> 00:38:29,896
"Natalia, go to your room
right now."
789
00:38:29,896 --> 00:38:31,310
And she did.
790
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,344
But, obviously,
I sat outside her door
for the rest of the night
791
00:38:38,068 --> 00:38:40,275
to make sure
she didn't come out,
792
00:38:40,275 --> 00:38:41,965
she didn't emerge,
something didn't happen.
793
00:38:45,758 --> 00:38:46,827
[birds tweeting]
794
00:38:48,655 --> 00:38:49,965
[Rachel] Knowing that,
795
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,068
that somebody like Natalia
796
00:38:54,068 --> 00:38:56,379
was living two doors down
from me
797
00:38:56,379 --> 00:38:59,827
and has, supposedly,
798
00:39:00,448 --> 00:39:02,172
tried to kill her family,
799
00:39:03,689 --> 00:39:06,379
thinking that there's a killer
in my neighborhood
800
00:39:06,379 --> 00:39:08,448
is mind-blowing,
801
00:39:09,172 --> 00:39:10,517
just mind-blowing.
802
00:39:11,241 --> 00:39:12,827
You think you know everybody.
803
00:39:13,896 --> 00:39:16,172
You've lived here for so long.
804
00:39:16,172 --> 00:39:19,344
You don't know everybody.
You don't know anybody.
You don't know anything.
805
00:39:20,758 --> 00:39:21,896
[Rachel sighs]
806
00:39:21,896 --> 00:39:24,344
But it's scary.
It's very scary.
807
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,310
[Michael] So, we start
going through lots of therapy.
808
00:39:30,862 --> 00:39:33,551
The cat was so heavy,
809
00:39:33,551 --> 00:39:36,689
I couldn't even lift it.
810
00:39:36,689 --> 00:39:38,965
[Michael] You start going
through plausible deniability.
811
00:39:39,655 --> 00:39:41,551
You start to try
to convince yourself
812
00:39:42,482 --> 00:39:44,344
she wasn't meaning to harm us.
813
00:39:45,241 --> 00:39:46,896
This might seem strange.
814
00:39:46,896 --> 00:39:49,689
We never, ever
815
00:39:49,689 --> 00:39:51,103
said, "Let's take her back."
816
00:39:51,103 --> 00:39:52,758
We thought
we could help things.
817
00:39:52,758 --> 00:39:54,310
We thought
we could improve things.
818
00:39:57,172 --> 00:39:58,551
[children chattering]
819
00:40:00,172 --> 00:40:01,862
[bell rings]
820
00:40:01,862 --> 00:40:05,344
We wake up one morning and
Natalia is suddenly in happy,
821
00:40:05,344 --> 00:40:07,862
"I wanna be part of
the family" mode again.
822
00:40:07,862 --> 00:40:11,000
And she asks Kristine,
"Is there anything
I can do to help?
823
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,172
You're doing the dishes.
Can I help do the dishes?"
824
00:40:14,172 --> 00:40:17,103
So Kristine says, "Sure.
I'd really appreciate that.
825
00:40:17,103 --> 00:40:18,344
Thank you, Natalia."
826
00:40:18,896 --> 00:40:20,551
So Natalia gets on a stool
827
00:40:20,551 --> 00:40:23,379
and starts rinsing
the dishes off in the sink.
828
00:40:23,379 --> 00:40:25,172
Kristine goes to the other
room for a moment
829
00:40:25,172 --> 00:40:28,068
and she's got a coffee cup
sitting on the counter.
830
00:40:28,896 --> 00:40:30,448
Kristine comes back in.
831
00:40:32,241 --> 00:40:34,068
Kristine screams.
832
00:40:35,448 --> 00:40:37,137
I come racing downstairs.
833
00:40:38,241 --> 00:40:39,896
I see a bottle of Pledge.
834
00:40:39,896 --> 00:40:41,551
I see Kristine's coffee cup,
835
00:40:41,551 --> 00:40:43,103
and Kristine tried to drink it
836
00:40:43,103 --> 00:40:45,137
and instantly tasted Pledge.
837
00:40:47,275 --> 00:40:50,137
Cleaning supplies
had been poured into
Kristine's coffee cup.
838
00:40:50,896 --> 00:40:53,379
Kristine is screaming at her,
839
00:40:53,379 --> 00:40:55,413
"Natalia, why did you
do this?"
840
00:40:58,275 --> 00:41:00,896
And she just says,
plain old, straight out,
841
00:41:00,896 --> 00:41:02,931
"I'm trying to kill you.
I'm trying to poison you."
842
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,931
Yeah, I certainly have that,
uh, instinct now, like, uh,
843
00:41:10,448 --> 00:41:12,862
I can't really
share a drink with someone
844
00:41:12,862 --> 00:41:15,241
unless I've, you know,
845
00:41:16,103 --> 00:41:19,241
seen the surface of it
the entire time.
846
00:41:19,241 --> 00:41:22,758
Well, it's probably
rooted in this fear
847
00:41:22,758 --> 00:41:26,068
that Natalia's coming to,
848
00:41:28,448 --> 00:41:30,034
like, poison us.
849
00:41:31,862 --> 00:41:34,655
I guess I haven't really
figured out a way
to reconcile it,
850
00:41:34,655 --> 00:41:36,482
if I'm being honest.
851
00:41:36,482 --> 00:41:37,931
I'm still working through it.
852
00:41:41,448 --> 00:41:43,413
I think I might need a minute.
I'm sorry.
853
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:53,758
[Kristine] Natalia,
what are you doing?
854
00:41:55,482 --> 00:41:56,724
[Kristine] What is it?
855
00:41:59,482 --> 00:42:00,620
[Kristine] Why?
856
00:42:02,862 --> 00:42:04,172
[Kristine] Like what thoughts?
857
00:42:08,689 --> 00:42:10,379
[Kristine] What happens
when you have them?
63606
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