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The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter premiered on Investigation Discovery on January 6 and 7, 2025, bringing the final chapter to the trilogy of the dark and twisted story of the Ukrainian orphan with a rare dwarfism condition. Natalia Grace was introduced in the original series in 2023, revealing her story and the controversy after she was adopted by the Barnett family in 2010.
Two years later, things took a dark turn when the Barnetts accused her of pretending to be a child when they claimed that she was an adult. The Barnetts further accused her of terrorizing them until she left the family and was taken by a new one—the Mans.
In 2024, Natalia shared her side of the story in the six-episode second chapter, Natalia Speaks. However, the series ended on a cliffhanger, with the Manses making a shocking phone call to the show's production team, claiming that Natalia was causing problems in their home.
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Now, in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, a new family enters the scene—the DePauls. They wanted to adopt Natalia before, and per the series' synopsis, they "launched an epic rescue mission" to free Natalia from the Mans family.
5 shocking facts from The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter
1) Natalia denied that the Manses abused her, but witnesses say otherwise
When she was asked if the Manses abused her, Natalia vehemently denied any abuse allegations on camera. However, the series unveiled that there are some witnesses, including friends and neighbors, who accused the Mans family of abusing their adoptive and foster children, including Natalia. Among the many claims made was that they slapped Natalia in the face, hit her with a belt, and sometimes locked her in a room.
Nicole admitted that Natalia talks about the Manses differently depending on who is present. She said that while Natalia won't admit to being abused on camera, she admitted to her firsthand that both Cynthia and Antwon Mans "whooped." When she was outright asked if the Manses ever physically assaulted, she said it wasn't "not anything crazy" and "maybe a pop on the butt or something."
However, Nicole's daughter, Mackenzie, said Natalia told her the whooping was "scared-of-Antwon-type [of] whooping." She said:
"[Natalia] did mention whooping—scared-of-Antwon-type whooping. Hitting anybody with a disability is already messed up, let alone a child, let alone somebody with such severe dwarfism."
2) Nicole installed hidden cameras in her house because of Natalia's contradictory statements
Because of Natalia's contradictory comments about the Manses, Nicole said in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter that she installed hidden cameras in her house. She said it was a way to corroborate Natalia's claims and statements.
However, she admitted that the cameras weren't exactly hidden because Natalia knew about them. She claimed that Natalia helped set them up. The cameras allegedly caught several moments from Natalia, including her conversation with her boyfriend Neil, where the latter told her that she should talk to someone because of some stuff that was "pretty brutal."
3) Nicole thinks that the Mans family was blackmailing Nicole with s*xually explicit content
Due to Natalia's flip-flopping statement about the Manses, Nicole theorized that they are holding something above Natalia's head and are trying to blackmail her. She believed that whatever those things are, they are s*xually explicit.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter noted that the Manses confiscated Natalia's phone several times and that they allegedly gathered details about Natalia's romantic and s*xual relationships. Nicole further theorized that there could be personal videos and messages involved, which Natalia never confirmed. However, she referenced "videos" that her former adoptive parents could leak, saying:
"I feel like with those videos, they're going to start a f**king war. My parents are gonna come out and say sh*t."
4) The Mans family left her with over $100,000 in tax bill
The latest Investigation Discovery doc revealed that the Manses financially exploited Natalia by keeping significant cntrol over her finances, thus restricting her independence. One of the allegations made against the Manses in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter of the series was that they said they would help Natalia pay her taxes but didn't. However, the Manses called Natalia a liar, saying that they said they would help but never promised to pay the whole thing. Cynthia told Nicole:
"We told her we would go in on it because it was our money, but we never said we was paying the whole thing. That devil's a liar."
Now, Natalia was left with a hefty $104,000 tax bill because the Manses backed out.
5) Natalia almost broke up the DePaul family
Despite the DePauls being her somewhat savior from the Manses, especially Nicole, helping Natalia left the family in chaos. Nicole's relationship with both her husband and daughter struggled with Natalia in their home. Mackenzie DePaul admitted in the documentary that she often stayed away from their home because Natalia made it "kind of stressful."
She then became distant from her mom and claimed in a confessional in the documentary that her mom prioritized helping Natalia over their family. She said:
"[Natalia] makes the environment kind of stressful, and now it seems like there's always some time of drama... My mom prioritized saving Natalia over her marriage."
Nicole admitted that she had daily fights with her husband, Vincent, over Natalia. Vincent allegedly threatened their 23 years of marriage with divorce. To add insult to injury, Natalia wasn't making it easier for Nicole, as the latter admitted Natalia would turn on her and make things "chaotic." Vincent also admitted in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter that the "disruption" Natalia caused to his once peaceful home was the major reason for it. However, he decided to stay because he said he loved his wife.
Catch all episodes of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, now streaming on Max.
