STRANGER THAN FICTION

‘Orphan’ Accused of Trying to Kill Parents Finds New Family

Natalia Grace, who has dwarfism, is speaking out in a new documentary about how she fled the Mans family.

Natalia Grace, the Ukrainian adoptee with dwarfism accused of lying about her age, has revealed she has a new family–after fleeing the one she says abused her but who claimed she terrorized them.

She is breaking her silence in a new documentary, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter, which follows her as she puts her life back together after escaping from the Mans family, who are accused of being controlling and abusive towards her.

TERRIFYING

‘The Orphan’ Comes to Life in This Horrifying True Story

Nick Schager

Grace first made headlines in 2012 when her first adoptive family, the Barnetts, accused her of lying about her age and terrorizing them. They claimed that Grace had threatened them with a knife and tried to poison Kristine Barnett’s coffee.

Though it was eventually proven that Grace was born in 2003, the Barnetts had her legal birthdate changed to 1989 and abandoned her, claiming she was a legal adult.

“I didn’t understand why I was alone. I just knew I had this instinct in me to push and survive,” Grace said. “All I was told was, ‘You’re 22 now. Whenever somebody asks you what your age is, you say you’re 22 and you tried to murder your family.' I was taught to lie.”

Grace was then adopted by the Manses in June 2023—but her journey was far from over. The docuseries alleges that neighbors saw the Manses whip Grace, though both she and the Manses refused to confirm or deny the claims.

That culminated just a few days before Christmas in 2023, when Grace fled from the Manses in the middle of the night with the help of her boyfriend Neil, whom she met on Facebook, to live with the DePaul family in upstate New York.

Grace met the DePauls outside of church in Nashville in the dramatic escape.

“The last thing I told my sisters were, ‘You guys go ahead to the church sanctuary and I love you,’” she recalled. She then texted the Manses to tell them she wasn’t coming back.

Nicole DePaul, 49, and her husband Vince, 51, who also have dwarfism, had tried to adopt Natalia in 2009 but were turned down.

“My heart started pounding. I was terrified. I was completely terrified,” Grace said of the escape.

BLAME GAME

The Dwarf Girl Accused of Trying to Kill Her Parents Speaks

Nick Schager

Nicole DePaul said that while the transition hasn’t been completely smooth because Grace came from a “house that basically was ruled by a dictator,” they’re helping her process her trauma.

“Did she probably do weird things in the past? Yeah,” De Paul said. “[But] when you take in a child, you take that child as your own. You don’t just get rid of them when they don’t fit into your puzzle.”