Adoptive parents of ‘22-year-old sociopath‘ dwarf accused of posing as a child could be jailed for five years

PARENTS accused of abandoning their adopted Ukrainian daughter by alleging she was “an adult sociopath” dwarf could be locked up for five years.
Kristine Barnett, 45, and Michael Barnett, 43, claim three-ft tall Natalia, who suffers from dwarfism, “pretended” to be six when it fact she was 16 years older.
But despite these remarkable claims, the pair from Indiana, US, were hauled before the courts yesterday facing neglect charges, reported .
Magistrate Daniel J Moore warned they face a prison sentence of five and a half years if they were found guilty of the allegations.
Prosecutors say parents legally changed her age to 22 before leaving her alone in a flat in Indiana for three years when they moved to Canada.
But in an incredible criminal case gripping the US, Barnett has hit back at the allegations, saying Natalia is an adult who wanted to kill their family.
She has told how she took in the girl in 2010 believing she was an eight-year-old from Ukraine in need of a home.
We have no indication that this individual has ever been honest about what her true age is
Michael Barnett’s lawyer Terrence Kinnard
A doctor who examined her in that year determined Natalia was about eight years old, court documents state.
But over time, Barnett, claims started to suspect Natalia was no innocent orphan.
She alleges the “impostor” tried to poison her, pushed her against an electric fence and threatened to kill her other children in their sleep.
Natalia is said to have smeared blood on mirrors and tried to jump out of a moving car.
According to court documents, Natalia was a minor child and dependent of the pair when they abandoned her in Lafayette, Indiana.
They admit leaving Natalia behind but claim she was legally classed as an adult after they obtained an emergency court order in 2012, ruling she was not eight but 22 after advice from medical experts.
But prosecutors claim bone density tests carried out on Natalia in 2010 and 2012 estimate her age at eight and 11, respectively.
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Michael Barnett’s lawyer Terrence Kinnard has reportedly said he would be submitting a motion asking prosecutors to specify whether they consider Natalia to be a child or a disabled adult.
He also submitted an application last week to have her mental health records released so they can form part of his defence.
Mr Kinnard told reporters: "The courts have stated that she is in fact an adult based on the evidence that they heard at hearings back in 2012 and 2017, however we have no indication that this individual has ever been honest about what her true age is.
"We do have anecdotal reports that she has also indicated to other individuals that she was an adult.
"We are the position of filing a motion asking for a more definitive declaration of what the actual dependency of this person is and what they are alleging existed at the time my client allegedly neglected her."
He added: "They [the estranged couple] still hold her dear in their hearts, they still believe she is a person that deserves love and support.
"They have never deprived her of that but nonetheless they find themselves in this position."
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