Natalia Grace Barnett insists she was just trying to clean when her former adoptive mum claimed she tried to poison her
A dwarf who was allegedly abandoned by her adoptive parents when she was nine has denied claims she tried to poison her mum with bleach.
Natalia Grace Barnett has hit back at claims by her former parents Kristine and Michael Barnett that she was an adult posing as a child when they took her in
The Barnetts allege Natalia tried to kill the family after moving into their home and was 22-years-old when they left her, although she claimed to be just a child.
But the Ukrainian has denied the accusations in an extraordinary interview with US TV star Dr Phil.
During the episode the host shows Natalia a clip of Ms Barnett claiming her adoptive daughter tried to spray bleach into her coffee while they were cleaning together.
He added that the American mother said she had video evidence of Natalia’s bid to poison her.
However, the Ukrainian told Dr Phil: “It was Lemon Pledge for tables.
“We had missed a spot so what I did was I scooted the chair over so I could get there and I scooted her coffee back so I could grab the thing because it was in front of it.
“So I scooted it back and I grabbed it. She came back and was like ‘what are you doing?’.
“She claimed I tried to spray it in her coffee, you can look in her coffee – there was nothing.”
Natalia, who now claims to be 16-years-old, said Ms Barnett had not mentioned anything about bloody clothing to her,
Cynthia Mans, her new adoptive mum who sat alongside her when she met Dr Phil, added: “She’s been with us for almost seven years, to this day she does not have a menstrual cycle. Not one.”
Mrs Mans and her husband Antwon, who also took part in the interview, described Natalia as a ‘genuine and loving young lady who has been through a horrible situation’.
They accused the Barnetts of lying and called for them to be punished for dumping their daughter in an apartment and moving to Canada.
The Barnettsm who were arrested for child abuse in September, adopted Natalia in 2010, when they thought she was six-years-old, before allegedly abandoning her in 2013.
Responding to the Barnetts’ allegations that she was an adult, Natalia told Dr Phil: “It’s not true.
“It’s not true at all. I just want people to hear my side.”
The Barnetts previously claimed a bone scan they paid for indicated she was born in 1989, Barnett also said doctors examined Natalia and concluded she was suffering a severe psychological illness only diagnosed in adults.
This illness supposedly led to her jumping from moving cars and smearing blood over mirrors.
The couple had Natalia’s age changed to 22 and later rented an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, in 2013 and left her there alone, according to police.