[music playing]
Every lie, there is a truth that always comes to light.
Like, there'll not be anything said in the darkness
that I will not shout from the rooftops
and the mountaintops in the light.
[Natalia] But you wanna know something else, though?
Admitting those is a whole other story.
I know it's not easy.
But that's what sets us free.
I have been on a roller coaster
with this case, right?
I had been up and down, one side, the other side,
seeing things from both sides,
trying to figure out who is telling the truth.
Is Michael lying?
Is Natalia lying?
Or maybe they are both victims of the same monster.
[exhales]
I didn't do anything wrong. I know I didn't do anything wrong.
I have a jury that has affirmed that I didn't do anything wrong.
I'm not hiding. I... I'm not criminal.
Uh, I'm not ashamed.
I'm not gonna listen to it. I'll hit play.
I'll hold it up and show it to you.
So, it truly doesn't affect me
what Kristine tells random people in the public about me.
Kristine told me in a series of messages
Natalia ruined her life in so many ways.
Kristine basically said that...
Natalia started [bleep] her husband.
She had either caught Natalia
-having sex with her husband... -Say what?
...or became aware of it.
-And then apparently, Natalia also tried to... -[Natalia] Are you serious?
... [bleep] one of the neighbors' husbands or one of the neighbors.
-Wait. Hold on. -[Freddie] I specifically remember Kristine
just telling me how heartbroken she was over the situation with Natalia
sleeping with her husband.
No! Are you crazy?
That is a total lie.
So to answer... to simply say it on camera.
Absolutely not. I have never at all...
touched Natalia in an inappropriate way.
I have never had any kind of sexual relations with Natalia.
Unequivocally, absolutely,
One hundred percent, hell... no.
At the same time... that's Kristine.
She will make up whatever crazy loud lie she can
and if you don't believe her, then she'll take it up a notch.
Michael really wants some resolution
in his one-on-one with Natalia.
But he also wants her to believe and understand
that he was victimized by Kristine too.
Natalia wants answers
and she wants justice.
The Barnetts think that it's over, but it's not.
It is far from over.
[Beth] And maybe they both still need to come clean
because maybe...
everybody is hiding something.
[sniffles, sighs]
If the truth does set us free,
and we have told as much truth as we can, have we not?
Hopefully, me showing up here...
should let you know I harbor no ill will for anything.
I'm not trying to hide from anything.
[sighs]
Did you know she pepper-sprayed me?
I learned that...
about a year ago.
-[Natalia] Do you know-- -Jacob told me.
Do you know how many times she did it?
[Michael] Jacob told me once.
Granted, Jacob wasn't going to be around every second of the day.
It was twice.
I can remember her getting a can of the pepper spray.
I remember her having it on her keys.
-[sighs] -[Natalia] The first time she did it,
it was just to show me what it was gonna be like.
-I remember she took me to the back porch. -[exhales]
[sniffles] She told me to keep my eyes open.
And the first time, I closed 'em
right as she was spraying, and she got mad
and was like, "You need to keep your eyes open."
[Michael] You know what? It's just too bad nobody ever got to show her.
'Cause, you know, if you have to know what it's gonna be like,
doesn't she need to know what it's gonna be like?
[voice shaking] And after she did it,
she wouldn't even let me clean my eyes
for like five minutes.
And I remember crying.
[sobbing] She wouldn't help me.
[sniffles]
The second time she did it,
it was actually at Jacob's school.
-All because I was walking too slow. -[Michael sighs]
[sobbing]
[Natalia continues sobbing]
I don't know nothing about statutes of limitations or anything but...
[sighs wearily] that sounds like [beeping] to me.
[Natalia] Did you know that she pepper-sprayed me?
[Michael] I learned that... about a year ago.
Wait a second, the pepper spray? Okay. No, no.
He didn't just learn about it.
He told us in 2022 in an interview
that Kristine told him about it at the time.
[Michael] Natalia wasn't telling her who she was,
so Kristine told me, one day I came home from work,
that she tried something new.
We had a pink...
cannister of pepper spray that was on Kristine's keys.
"Tell me who you are...
or I'm gonna spray you in the face with this."
No, I don't think he just learned about it
because he told us he knew about it in 2022.
Kristine's telling me this happily and proudly
like it's no big deal.
"Michael, I...
I even tried pepper-spraying her today.
She still won't admit the truth."
Michael needs to admit to Natalia that he knew about it.
You can't tell her you just learned about it
when you told us and it's recorded.
Just admit it.
It hurt, you know, the fact that... [sniffles]
the fact that she just did it, like, just to do it.
That first time was... and I didn't want her to do it.
Like, I told her, you know, I don't want to do it. [sniffles]
And she did it the first time and I closed my eyes
before it got in my eyes and she told me to keep...
Kristine told me to keep my eyes open.
It hurt so much and the fact that she didn't care
was the worst part of it.
Looking back and talking to Natalia and...
reflecting and asking her if anything had happened in the Barnett home,
um, physical abuse, she didn't say anything.
What Natalia is saying in this video clip...
I had never heard that before.
She never said anything.
And knowing what I know
with my experience in interviewing children
and working with families over the years,
it doesn't surprise me that she didn't say anything.
[crying]
[Sheriff Bob] There's some trauma there.
What they did...
that's not love.
Not even close.
That's hate.
What are the things that Kristine made up?
[Michael] Um...
I... so many things.
What did she make up about me?
You were going to kill everybody.
You were gonna kill her, you were gonna kill the boys.
And again, I don't wanna talk.
I don't wanna... I don't wanna go down this road.
[Natalia] Kristine is the one that told me
to tell them that I wanted to hurt you guys,
that I wanted to... poison Kristine,
that I wanted to... just... that I was hiding knives.
What is that story even?
What was what story?
-Hiding knives? -[Natalia] Yeah.
I was never alone.
What is that story about?
I would come home from work. There was a couple of times,
during a period of time, that Kristine said
she found knives under your bed.
There was one time that I...
found a knife under your bed.
And there was one time you were holding a knife in our bedroom.
That's what that's about.
I was never in y'all's room with a knife.
I remember you being in there.
I couldn't even look at over y'all's bed.
I barely even climbed over it.
I understand that. That doesn't change the fact
that you were in the room holding the knife that direction.
[Natalia] Michael...
I remember...
the knives were always put up where I couldn't even reach 'em.
I would've had to drag a chair. Y'all would've heard me.
And I was never alone.
Kristine was always there,
-so how could I have got 'em? -[Michael] I don't know.
There was a night, you were standing
not the very foot of the bed, but, like, six, seven, eight feet back...
holding a medium-size knife.
And there was one time I found one under your bed.
Now, were there things going on that was...
making it really hard for you to keep...
things straight? Maybe, but I remember that.
I couldn't even reach that fridge even with a chair.
So how could I have got them?
I don't know how. I know what I saw.
I was never alone. Kristine was always there.
And yet I remember seeing that.
[Michael] It's okay, we don't have to focus on that.
[Beth] I don't know what the truth is.
But at the beginning of this face-off
between Natalia and Michael,
you look at her body language, right?
She is, like, not happy and is like "Okay, what do you got?
But Michael sounds pretty truthful.
I know what I saw.
[Beth] Michael seems pretty credible.
And then Natalia starts to relax her posture.
So if you're reading her body language,
one has to wonder. Does Natalia remember everything...
back in those days?
[interviewer] Mmm-hmm.
[interviewer] Tell me about that.
[interviewer] Well, what was happening with the knife?
[Beth] Was Natalia a dangerous person?
Did she or didn't she hold a knife
at the end of their bed?
And why did so many other people
report that Natalia was violent
and acted out sexually?
It is one of those unanswered questions in this case.
[Terrance] Every family she's been with
has given the identical story of her behavior.
And that story is, "Natalia harmed
one of our family members."
There is a pattern here.
And the Barnetts experienced this pattern.
That raises questions.
[Beth] After hearing about the way Natalia...
Natalia was treated inside the Barnett home,
all the beatings,
it sheds a different light on these allegations
that Natalia was hoarding knives
and putting them under her bed, if she ever was.
Because maybe,
she had these knives for self-defense.
And also,
there is another explanation for Natalia's behavior.
In 2010, Natalia was diagnosed
with reactive attachment disorder.
And that's a diagnosis
though, apparently, it's kinda common with orphans.
Maybe international orphans too.
Reactive attachment disorder is a rare condition
that prevents children from bonding
with their family members.
And the number one cause is trauma.
[Nicole] I think that Natalia did have her trauma.
'Cause who wouldn't?
I think that the Barnetts were pushing her daily
to do things that were probably making her
very, very uncomfortable.
I think she was in pain, chronic pain, miserable.
And if she was acting out
whether it'd be a knife, whether it'd be whatever,
she was a child who was disabled who needed help.
[Natalia] Says that I was diagnosed with psychosis, bipolar,
schizophrenia, attachment disorder and mood disorder.
You can ask my parents.
Never once have I showed any signs of bipolar,
and my parents have seen bipolar before.
Like, they've seen a whole lot of mental illnesses.
So they know.
And they will let you know that
I've never showed anything like that.
The reactive attachment disorder,
I can say there probably was a little bit before.
The only thing I had was reactive attachment disorder.
Which is understandable.
I've seen so many people that didn't want me.
So, of course, I'mma be scared to get attached to you.
But I'm also scared to get attached to you
because of what you're doing.
Why would I wanna get attached to you?
If anything, I wanna get as far away from you as possible.
But I couldn't do that 'cause I was a kid.
And I do remember having some behavior issues
when I first met my parents.
When Natalia first got with us,
there would be moments that she would just be so broken
and just feel like, "How do I deal with this?" You know?
Wassup?
-[Natalia chuckles] What's up, people? -[child speaking indistinctly]
[Cynthia] Natalia's been with us all these years.
And let me tell you, we have corrected Natalia.
And she's never came at us with a knife
or put thumb tacks up on our stairs
or tried to hurt our children.
I was lying all the time, stealing all the time,
I cussed.
I probably did say some sexual stuff that I should not have.
Um, they probably remember it more than I do.
[chuckles softly]
I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.
'Cause I didn't know.
I was really little,
being exposed to so much stuff that I didn't know was bad.
But I don't like to think about my past.
Natalia's been asked about her memories of Ukraine.
And we know that survivors of trauma
often block memories as a coping mechanism.
[Veronica] She had these traumatic events in her past.
And her childhood was so difficult
and so many sporadic traumas.
It doesn't surprise me that Natalia was acting out.
I've always tried to remember certain things.
[dog barking]
I don't know what happened to me
while I was in the Ukraine.
That is one big part of the puzzle
that has still got a lot of holes in it.
[investigator] All right, so you were in Ukraine
and, and has anybody ever told you
how long you were in the orphanage?
[investigator] You think you were only there for a year.
[Natalia] The time I was in the Ukraine in the orphanage,
there's a lot of fuzziness with it.
One thing I do remember though,
I remember, I--
It might've been like a foster family
or like a mom.
Like, I remember being there
for honestly, I don't even know how long.
Like, I just remember waking up
and it was totally different.
I don't know how I got there.
I don't know what happened.
And I don't remember how I came to the United States.
Like, that whole thing is just blank.
There's still a lot of mystery that, uh,
surrounds Natalia's adoption in Ukraine.
And the records that were lost
in a sewer incident at the hospital
that we're aware of, where she was born.
The judge that handled the adoption proceeding
was terminated for corruption
a month or so after Natalia was adopted.
And that the file,
the records of Natalia's adoption were missing.
Did you ever see that birth certificate before?
-[speaking Ukrainian] -[Kenneth] You did-- Did you--
[speaking Ukrainian]
-[speaking Ukrainian] -[Kenneth] No. Okay.
[translator] She didn't know about her whereabouts.
They only told her she was relocated to the United States,
and she doesn't know what happened to her after this.
Would I be surprised that Natalia was handed off
to different people for nefarious reasons?
Maybe, you know, trafficked.
I wouldn't be surprised by anything.
[investigator] Do you know which parts of the body
people aren't supposed to touch?
-[investigator] Private areas. -[Natalia] Yeah.
[investigator] You know where your private areas are?
[investigator] Okay.
There are a lot of real sickos out there.
Talk about diabolical.
They exist.
Tell me about that.
[investigator] Mmm-hmm.
-[investigator] Which guy? -[Natalia] Um...
[Nicole] Our social worker had taught us.
A child that comes from an orphanage
that was abandoned as a baby,
is gonna have some trauma.
If Natalia is now your daughter,
and she's been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder,
you have to accept that.
You have to be prepared.
[Cynthia] Natalia's been through a lot.
And so how we coped with it was lots of family love.
Like, we would all get together
and we would pray together,
to show her that she is a good person
and she is able to be loved.
[Michael] Your therapist believed
that reactive attachment kids needed to be boot camped.
That you needed to treated like you were in the military.
He shared a couple words with Kristine,
and she took 'em and ran with 'em.
She loved the idea of bootcamp.
And at-- And suddenly, everything was a privilege or a consequence.
I had privileges and consequences.
Abusers want you to feel like not only you're the only one,
-but they want you to feel like you can't tell anyone. -[Natalia crying]
[Michael] I am thankful you and I are alive today.
Oh, my God. [sighs]
[crying softly]
She tried everything
to try to make me into a monster.
[Michael] She did the exact same to me.
November 2013,
uh, we had just moved to Canada.
And she and I had the-- [sighs]
probably the fight to end all fights.
We're in a car. There's me, there's her.
Wesley and Ethan are in the back seat.
[sighs]
[exhales sharply]
Instant screaming, blood curdling, top-of-lungs.
"Everything's mine, nothing's yours.
These people are mine.
The things are mine, the children are mine,
the money is mine, friends are mine.
You have nothing."
And she's just going on and on and on
and she just keeps saying,
"Mine."
My success, my money, my Hollywood.
And she keeps going and she keeps going and she keeps going.
And I had enough.
And both hands on the wheel,
I shouldn't have said what I said. I regret saying what I said.
I told her, "Shut up or I'll kill you."
So she keeps yelling, yelling, yelling, gets her phone out,
secretly hits "record" and then stops screaming.
So now, the only person screaming is who?
-You. -Me.
And what am I saying?
"Shut up or I'll kill you."
So she records that,
and while it's happening she turns to the boys,
"Boys, Dad's gonna kill you both.
But Mommy's gonna protect you. I'll save you.
He's gonna kill everyone. I'll save you."
So, she records it. [sighs]
I can't tell you how many times
she's played that back to them.
It's a lot.
She played that back to them over and over and over, allegedly
so they would be afraid of their dad.
All I wanted to do was get away from her.
They spent the next nine months,
all three boys,
staying up all night,
at the window of the farm
in the middle of nowhere, Canada,
with knives
waiting for their dad to come home.
Because she had convinced them
he's gonna come back and get you.
He's going to come back and kill you.
You've gotta tell the judge in our divorce
that you've gotta come with Mom,
'cause Dad's gonna kill you.
The boys relayed to me that she would pull up on the computer,
every story of every father that ever killed their child.
And she convinced them I was gonna do it to 'em.
Suddenly, they're terrified.
And she takes them to a battered women's therapist in the middle of nowhere.
And tells the battered women's therapist,
"I'm a monster, I'm gonna kill everybody,
please save me."
She gets me to agree that
whatever the therapist thinks is best for the kids, I'll do.
[clicks tongue] Next thing I know,
what the therapist thinks is best for the kids
is they should-- they should never talk to their dad.
[cries softly]
I didn't see my sons.
[sniffles]
[softly] She took 'em.
[sniffles]
I-- I-- I don't-- I don't have my sons.
January 15th, 2014 is the last time I saw them.
[crying softly]
I've seen Jacob.
And he and I have worked on things
and tried to repair some things. [sniffles]
But I missed everything.
[sniffles] I missed...
the rest of him growing up,
I missed...
things like his first date, his first dance.
I...
I've-- I've-- I've missed--
I've missed every-- everything. [sniffles]
I haven't...
I've-- I-- I haven't seen Wesley and Ethan.
My sons are gone. [sniffles]
[Natalie] I can tell he's struggling.
I feel like part of it is guilt.
The things that Michael has done,
that Kristine has done,
they were not right.
It should've never happened in the first place.
[Antwan] I think there's always time for redemption.
It's never too late to do the right thing.
But you need to give a full confession of what you've done.
[Beth] Michael and Natalia both want some kind of closure.
This was an important confrontation,
face-off, meeting, whatever.
Michael is still making excuses,
instead of taking responsibility himself for some of the abuse.
And time is running out.
I've had nightmares about this stuff.
[sighs]
[Natalia] I want it to stop.
And I want a full apology.
[Michael sighs]
Did you ever think how it would affect me?
You remember your cross that's got the-- the--
your little name "Grace" on it that we used to have?
[crying] Yeah.
I have like, six things left from my old life,
that's one of 'em.
It's hanging up on the wall in the middle of the living room.
So, yes, I think about it.
And I think about all the time... [crying softly]
The cross with your name on it
is positioned in a, in a spot in my living room
where I have to see it.
I've never tried to forget Natalia in general.
Natalia deserves to not be forgotten.
Yes, I think of it.
And I beat myself up over it all the time
for not being stronger.
I could've easily killed myself
ten times in the last year alone.
[sighs]
[Natalia] And...
I hate...
the things that they've had to go through.
[sniffles]
[Michael] They're gonna be gone forever.
I need a... I need a miracle.
I... I need...
I... I need a miracle.
[sniffles]
And I just want everyone...
to find some peace in that.
Being so terrified of...
what she'll do next.
[sniffles]
Are you sorry?
-Yeah. -Are you sorry about what she did to me?
[sniffles]
I'm overly sorry about what she did to you.
I am horrified by what she has done to you. [sniffles]
I am sorry I wasn't stronger
and didn't stop her. I...
[sobbing]
[Michael] I wasn't...
I...
I just wasn't.
I don't think I'm strong enough now to do it.
But I'm doin' it anyway.
'Cause the truth deserves to be told complete.
Not a little snippet.
Here's everything.
[sobbing]
[Natalia] Michael...
I forgive you.
You don't have to.
I don't forgive me.
I just couldn't.
[sobbing]
Michael.
[Michael] I... [sniffles]
-Michael. -I should've stopped her.
[Natalia] Michael. Look at me.
I forgive you.
[Michael sniffles]
-Please? -Sure.
[sniffling]
In the name of Jesus,
thank you for protecting me.
Thank you for giving him a second chance.
Thank you for saving him from the pills that he took.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
All that you've done, Lord Jesus,
'cause we know that you have a plan for him.
I just pray, Lord Jesus, that you would just touch his heart.
Please. God, I just pray to...
[sniffles]
...give him a new mindset.
Give him a new heart.
He can be stronger than this.
I pray... [sniffles]
He can be better than who he is.
God, I just pray that you would just...
-just help him, Lord Jesus. -[Michael sobbing]
Please just help him.
Please.
Lord Jesus in Eden.
Thank you.
This is how we get free.
[Natalia] I just want you to know something else.
It was not easy to forgive you.
It wasn't.
That...
That is a really powerful scene.
I mean, the... I think the tears are real.
I think this is what each side was hoping for,
forgiveness and an apology.
But...
One of the unresolved issues
is that Natalia wants to know why she was re-aged.
It's still so painful for her.
But it's one area
that Michael says is completely off limits.
So...
Did Natalia really forgive him?
Or is it a ruse to get information
for a possible civil suit
and trial down the road?
[Michael sighs]
This was hard.
But...
I'm willing to do it.
'Cause everybody deserves a second chance.
Everybody deserves a time...
to admit their faults and be forgiven.
I appreciate that.
I hope you have nothing but a happy existence
and it seems like you have that.
I am okay.
I'm glad you're okay.
Ever since I met my parents,
they let me have the childhood that I needed.
They're the ones that got me through
the things that I went through.
And I pray that...
your life gets easier too.
Gotta do this...
I can't bend.
-I can't put my... -I know you can't.
Or we... We can just... Watch this.
Do that and then we're in here,
and then we're there.
And I'll slap that for ya.
[chuckles] Thanks.
At first, like, I was very upset with him and, you know,
it was just very hard to be able to forgive Michael.
And honestly, I wish I could've been able to talk to him more
about the re-aging.
But at the end of the day...
he apologized.
Everybody deserves peace in their life.
[Michael] It's extremely nice to know
that there is...
no mental daggers coming from her side to me.
[sighs]
Forgiveness is good.
Forgiveness wipes it all away.
All right.
[rock song playing indistinctly]
♪ Until you care about ♪
♪ Care about ♪
♪ You care about ♪
♪ Care about ♪
[music recedes]
[chuckling]
It's my adoption day and I'm so excited.
Um...
It's been a long time coming.
This...
is my adoption board.
Let's do a countdown.
[laughs] It's great.
I mean, I'm at 0 days.
[giggling]
It's official.
It has been a really long journey.
[grunts]
I have always wondered
if I would ever be able to...
find someone that would actually love me.
But then I met my parents and...
it's been different ever since.
It's been a good different.
This is the day that I close the door on the Barnetts
and never open it again.
I was the girl who came from Ukraine
and a lot of stuff happened...
that I wish didn't.
But, I just want people to remember me as...
someone who was able to overcome
what they went through.
I was able to still move on and just grow.
All right. Up the ramp we go.
[Cynthia] It's adoption--
-[Antwon] It's adoption time. -[Natalia] Okay.
[Cynthia] Adoption day.
You ready to make this official?
I'm very ready to make this official.
-Yes. -Are you sure you wanna do this?
-Because you're stuck with us. -Yeah.
-Yes. -You know what?
Y'all stuck with me, so...
-Yeah. [chuckling] -We appreciate that.
Yes.
-I love y'all so much. -All right.
-Let's go do this, baby. -Let's do this.
-[Cynthia] Come on. - [Antwon] Let me get the door.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm about to be adopted.
Oh, my gosh.
This is matter of the adoption
of Natalia Grace Barnett.
Natalia, can you raise your right hand to be sworn?
Do you swear or affirm the testimony
you're about to give us the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth?
-I do. -[Judge Barajas] You may be seated.
Trusting is not easy.
Especially when you've been hurt.
But...
being adopted is... is an awesome thing.
It really is.
Especially when you find that perfect family.
You understand adoption is supposed to be forever.
-Yes. -[Peter] Okay. Do you wish
that this adoption be forever
-as you sit here in court today? -Yes, I do.
Okay. So there's a discrepancy in your legal age
and your biological age.
Can you explain that to me?
Um, the adopted family that was before, they changed my age.
Uh, they was trying to claim that I was an adult
even though I wasn't.
[Judge Barajas] Okay. So legally you are 33 years of age.
Yes.
[Judge Barajas] Okay. So you're born in Ukraine.
And what date does that show that you were born?
September 4th, 2003.
Okay, so either way you're an adult.
You're either 19 years old or some other number.
-Yes. -Okay. You may sit down.
[speaking indistinctly]
[Judge Barajas] The court will find that Natalia Grace Barnett
consents to the adoption in open court today.
And that the petition should be granted
that the adult's name
should be changed to Natalia Grace Rene Mans.
And that the petitioners
Antwon Cori Mans and Cynthia Marie Rene Mans
from this day forward shall be known as her parents.
[squealing, giggling]
[Natalia] I love you.
[laughs]
Daddy.
[sobbing]
Finally being adopted...
to my family who has loved me
and gone through every roadblock
and every stepping stone...
and never gave up on me
is the greatest feeling in the world to me.
Oh, my gosh. I love you.
That's literally, like, the happiest moment
of my entire life.
[Cynthia] I am the mommy.
-I am the mommy. [laughing] -[Antwon] Come on, buddy.
Oh, my gosh. It's official.
I have the adoption decree right here.
It's official!
[laughing]
My life, ever since I was really little,
I felt like, uh, written out for me.
Just like a crazy, curious story
of just, like, many twists and turns.
And I had no control over that.
I had to learn a lot of life lessons
at a early age.
But I will forever embrace my past
because I feel like it made me stronger.
I just wanna stay focused on now
'cause I have a lot of big plans for my life.
I'm gonna get my age changed
back to the way it's supposed to be.
Go to school, get my high school diploma.
This is a new chapter...
in the story...
with just endless possibilities.
Book two is about to be written by me
and that book is gonna be an amazing book.
I already know. [laughs]
[intense music playing]
[Cynthia] Yeah.