The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks - What is Natalia Grace's real age?

Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-American teenager with a rare genetic disorder, was adopted as a six-year-old from a Florida Adoption Center by an Indiana-based couple in 2010. Little did anyone know that the adoption would be triggering a series of allegations and suspicious activities.

After the Barnetts took in Natalia, they started questioning her actual age owing to indications of physical and emotional maturity. Meanwhile, her doctors allegedly determined her age to be at least 14 years with the help of bone density tests. The Barnetts successfully changed her birth year from 2003 to 1989 with a petition to the Marion County Probate Court in 2012 before they abandoned her at a Lafayette apartment in 2013.

Putting together several facts, misrepresented and otherwise, along with the key witnesses in the case, much debate has been around Grace's actual age. The Investigation Discovery special offers the synopsis:

"The story of Natalia Grace, assumed to be a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, a rare bone disorder; her adoptive parent alleged Natalia was an adult who was masquerading as a child with intent to harm the family."

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Speculation around Natalia Grace's real age - Details explored

Natalia Grace was allegedly six years old when she was adopted by an Indiana-based couple, Michael and Kristine Barnett, from a Florida-based adoption center. In the next few months of moving into her new family, Natalia was accused of being an adult pretending to be a child.

The Barnetts reported Natalia having pubic hair, menstruation, and mature bone structure compared to other children with dwarfism and similar disabilities. She was also accused of attempting to cause harm to the Barnett family by poisoning, electrocution, arson, and death threats.

In the struggle to understand Natalia Grace's real age, Kristine and Michael Barnett consulted doctors and psychiatrists to establish her adulthood despite contrasting medical reports taken around the same time. In a report prepared by Buzzfeed News, Grace's age was determined to be approximately eight years old by Dr. Riggs at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

Additionally, the medical records from June 2012 state that a skeletal survey from the same hospital found Natalia to be around 11 years old, according to the affidavit reviewed by Buzzfeed News.

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DNA test confirms Natalia Grace's real age

The first episode of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, which aired on January 1, 2024, came with an answer that left viewers scrambling for proof on the Internet after the airing of Season 1.

In the episode, Natalia Grace visits an age specialist, Dr. Halland Chen, from TruDiagnostic, who confirms her age to be close to 22 years old per her blood sample dated August 2023. Her age confirmation further proves that Grace was indeed six years of age when Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted her.

Dr. Chen shares on camera:

“Based off of all the studies and everything being analysed, you’re more closer to 22.. which is pretty close to what you think, [that] you’re almost 20 – that's within 2 years.”

The results provide Grace with apparent relief as she broke down in tears, sharing:

“I've known the truth for as long as I can remember, that I was a kid. I just want people to really see the truth about my age.”

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TruDiagnostic is a medical lab specializing in biological aging based on the DNA Methylation process.