Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing Natalia was actually ~14yo when the Barnetts adopted her. Precocious puberty seems highly unlikely. She would have been around 17-18 when the Barnetts placed her in the apartment by herself.
I believe the agency in Ukraine lied and the first adoptive parents figured out Natalia's true age. Likely, she has attachment disorder and other mental/personality disorders as well. Combined with her severe dwarfism that causes her to be physically disabled, her mental disorders were probably too much for them to handle. Same with the Barnetts.
Natalia probably is manipulative and has violent thoughts. I believe it's highly likely she's a sociopath. Given her age when she was hospitalized and then living in the Lafayette apartment, it wouldn't surprise me if she was sexually active or exhibiting predatory behavior. Her disorders and behaviors most likely stem from in-utero and childhood trauma, and perhaps genetics.
I surmise the families who adopted her had cases of savior syndrome. At worst, one or both of the Barnetts are narcissists. Circumstances of the adoptions by the two families seem shady. The burden of dealing with a teen with extreme physical and mental disorders became too much for the families. I don't blame any of the adoptive parents for being unable to handle Natalia's issues. I know I couldn't handle it, which is why I would never seek out a child who came from Natalia's background. However, the Barnetts were negligent for placing Natalia in a non-therapeutic environment once they could no longer handle having her in their lives.
The story is very complex, and it's nearly impossible to glean the truth from any of the documentaries or articles about the case. I'm sure the Barnetts have lied repeatedly, and they appear manipulative and destructive, but I imagine there's also some truth in many of their stories and allegations. No doubt, my hypothesis is full of holes, but it's what I'm able to digest.
This makes the most sense but a therapeutic placement would have cost a fortune except if the government paid. I don't get why they didn't hand her over to child welfare.
Both families are shady. The second family took all her benefits and social security check pretty quickly.