Tippecanoe County Prosecutors Give Media Access to the Barnett Files

Lafayette, IN-When Natalia Grace Barnett, a Ukrainian orphan, was brought to Lafayette in July 2013 and placed in a north-end apartment, how old was she actually?

Was she really 9, as her birth certificate, the government, and the local police all claim? Or was she 23 years old as ruled by the court, an adult with a form of dwarfism who, according to her parents, tricked them into adopting her before terrorizing them and their family?

The Tippecanoe County prosecutor released evidence that wasn't allowed in the cases of Michael and Kristine Barnett, the adoptive parents falsely accused of abandoning Natalia in Lafayette before moving to Canada ten years ago. This comes as a new whirl of rumors begins with the premiere of a new docuseries, "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace."

Prosecutor Patrick K Harrington

The majority of it, according to elected prosecutor Pat Harrington, is what they were prohibited to admit into evidence.

The Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's Office claims, birth records from Ukraine are in question; they were withheld until allegations of mistreatment were made public in 2019 to explosive national and worldwide headlines. They also claim newer evidence of physical abuse and information regarding Natalia's birth mother's DNA all contribute to the possibility that the Barnetts wanted to cut off contact with Natalia.

As a result, Harrington claimed that when the Barnetts' conduct became public, prosecutors were prepared to show that Natalia was a preteen in 2013. The prosecutors were prohibited from presenting the evidence, due to the factual and legal arguments presented to the court by the defense attorneys in the case.

Defense Attorney Mark Nicholson

Famed Defense attorney Mark Nicholson said, "The prosecutor's comments sound like sour grapes for losing a case that should have never been filed."

Additionally, "Why are they releasing all these documents, depositions and stuff to the media? They want to try and embarrass the Barnetts and try them in the media since they lost in the courtroom…repeatedly," Attorney Nicholson said.

"The Curious Case of Natalia Grace," a three-night docuseries that premiered yesterday at 9 p.m. on Investigative Discovery, HBO Max and Amazon Prime will continue to keep the debate going.