It has all the makings of a thriller movie: an unsuspecting couple adopts a little girl. But turns out the girl is not little. She is an adult sociopath masquerading as a child -- who later tries to kill them.
If this reminds you of 2009 Hollywood thriller Orphan, you should hurry to read what's next.
The story is the defence a mom-of-three has put forth. The woman was accused of felony neglect for abandoning her adopted daughter.
Kristine and her ex-husband Michael Barnett are alleged to have abandoned their adopted daughter Natalia Grace in Indiana, United States in 2013 before fleeing to Canada a month later.
But Kristine insists Natalia was not a nine-year old. She was all of 22.
Ukrainian-born Grace is said to be suffering from a rare form of dwarfism.
Kristine, in an exclusive interview to DailyMail TV, claimed her family was terrorised by the girl. Grace threatened to stab them in their sleep, pushed her towards an electric fence and poured bleach in her coffee.
"She would make statements and draw pictures saying she wanted to kill family members, roll them up in a blanket and put them in the backyard," she told DailyMailTV, adding, "Natalia was a woman. She had periods. She had adult teeth. She never grew a single inch, which would happen even with a child with dwarfism."
Barnett presented DailyMailTV with a trove of paperwork that appears to confirm her version of events. One clinical therapist in January 2012 said Natalia claimed to them that she was 18.
"I am being charged by the state of Indiana for crimes against a child when the state of Indiana has determined multiple times that Natalia was an adult," said Kristine. She has asked for her location to remain confidential over threats her family have received.
Before the couple was leaving for Canada, they came up with a plan for Natalia -- so that she could survive alone.
Kristine claimed she even took care of the rent of the house where they left Natalia. By 2013, Natalia had vanished and stopped returning their calls.
One of the three children the couple has was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. He, however, was a child prodigy and published a paper at the age of 12. He started studying at a prestigious physics institute at 15.
The Barnetts are due to appear in court later this month.
