The Curious Case Of Natalia Grace - General Discussion

[Realitystarr]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:54 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

If Natalia had been beatened like that she would have been either seriously hurt or even of died from her injuries. No way a child with the very serious problems she has could have survived a beating like the one Michael demonstrated...no way.

Or  getting kicked down the stairs by Jacob or Michael.   But I think they did do all that to her and much worse.

On 1/1/2024 at 7:11 PM, Annber03 said:

My main takeaway from the current episode that's airing now - so Natalia said that she has no recollection of Michael coming into the room the night of the pubic hair incident that was mentioned in the first documentary. But in that earlier documentary, he said he did come in there when his wife called. 

Which now begs the question, if he didn't actually go in there, why would he say he did? Especially given he's currently under investigation for child abuse/neglect. 

This is the weirdest, creepiest fucking case I've heard in quite some time, I swear. 

And why would she call him in to look for himself the first night they bring her home. This is something the mom might relay but there's no need to actually make him look at it.

And how are these two idiots  homeschooling their kid and has Jacob the genius in the family,  but  arent' smart enough to Google a 6 year old with pubic hair to find out that  it's possible.

[TattleTeeny]

I feel like what may be getting lost in the public opinion of Natalia and this whole story is that, even if she was/is a scammer and was an adult back then (which she was not), it is not an excuse to treat someone cruelly instead of extricating yourself from the situation. The treatment of Natalia by the Barnetts says more about them than it does about her, no matter who or how old she was.

[sskrill]

19 hours ago, Realitystarr said:

Or  getting kicked down the stairs by Jacob or Michael.   

I don't think they said who actually did that.  I assumed it was Kristine, but it could have been one of the other boys at Kristine's direction.  I didn't get the impression it was either one of them, just that they didn't want to talk about the fact that it happened at all.

[TattleTeeny]

I got the idea that someone may have made Jacob kick her. He was pretty broken up about other things he’d been made to do. But maybe, if it was him, that kicking thing was where he drew the line as far as what he could bear to talk about for the documentary. 

Edited January 17 by TattleTeeny

[hatchetgirl]

On 1/4/2024 at 8:14 PM, TattleTeeny said:

like we did with Michael. He seems like a beaten down, insecure, weak, deluded, and terrified person.

Man - this guy is acting like he does Shakespeare in the Park every year!  I cannot stand him, he not a reliable witness in any way, and his attorney had the freaking CHEAK to victimize that little girl again by pointing at her as the bad guy???  WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK!

[Scarlett45]

On 1/18/2024 at 4:56 PM, hatchetgirl said:

Man - this guy is acting like he does Shakespeare in the Park every year!  I cannot stand him, he not a reliable witness in any way, and his attorney had the freaking CHEAK to victimize that little girl again by pointing at her as the bad guy???  WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK!

Michael thinks he is auditioning for the lead in his community theatre production of Hamlet, but isn’t talented enough. His attorney should’ve kept his mouth shut about Natalia and “sexual promiscuity”. Ummmmm even if she is as an adult, that’s not a CRIME asshole. Neglecting a child or a dependent adult is a CRIME. 
 

So I finished the documentary. 
Natalia was abused and mistreated by the Barnetts- I believe Kristine was the ring leader, but Michael was in on it and in full support. I can also believe Kristine tried to traffic her, Freddie Gill had no reason to lie. 
And goodness knows who abused her in the orphanage. 

She’s 20-22 not 34. 

The Manns are religious zealots, who feel called to care for others to spread the faith. But I think Natalia was safest with them out of anyone. How unfortunate that none of the couples with dwarfism that spoke were able to adopt her.  I think her life would’ve been so much better. 
 

I can believe everyone is continuing the narrative for money. Not that I blame her- what happened to her was atrocious, if she can make a living out of sharing it then good. I can believe Natalia has a lot of psychological and emotional damage, and wouldn’t be an easy person to have a close relationship with. 

[Lovecat]

On 1/20/2024 at 9:59 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Michael thinks he is auditioning for the lead in his community theatre production of Hamlet, but isn’t talented enough.

OMG, the DRAMATICS from this guy!  Michael, you're at an 11...I need you to dial it back to about a 4.

[Kath94]

Okay, I haven't quite finished the series yet (up to S2 E4 and read this entire thread as well as the linked articles) and here's what I think caused the animosity between the Manses & Natalia.  She is now an adult, regardless of how old you believe she was when the Barnetts adopted her. The Manses took her in, took care of her, but also saw a potential source of income, whether for themselves personally or "for the ministry."  They film season 2 and prepare for season 3, thinking, "Girl, we gon' be RICH!"  And then Natalia, the adult, makes her own deal with ID or whoever produces this shitfest.  THAT'S what broke the relationship. Pretty obvious when Natalia says she can't comment "because (she) signed an agreement."  The Manses put up with a lot from Natalia as an investment in the future and she screwed them over.

I have to believe everyone is lying.  It's quite possible that Natalia was older than 6 when she was adopted by the Barnetts, but she was hardly an adult.  Aged down to help with adoption, perhaps, and precocious, sexually and otherwise, because of what she had been exposed to in orphanages & foster homes.  Probably sexually abused, and any attention for a child is good attention.  She may have tried this with Michael, Kristine saw it, further fueling her suspicions and hate.  Natalia needs some serious psychiatric care and the Barnetts need some jail time.  The ONLY reason they got off is that they had Natalia "aged up" and got that fact barred from court.