Six shocking bombshells from "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter"

For years, Natalia Grace's story has perplexed true crime fans, investigators and the public.

In three seasons, "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" has examined Natalia's troubling and traumatic life story, bouncing from foster homes to many different adoptive parents after coming to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child. Natalia was diagnosed with a form of dwarfism, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which has led to long-standing issues with caretakers exploiting her.

The mistreatment began with her first adoptive family, Michael and Kristine Barnett, who alleged that Natalia was older than she said she was. The Barnetts re-aged Natalia by changing her legal birth year from 2003 to 1989. The Barnetts cut off Natalia in 2013 and another adoptive family, Cynthia and Antwon Mans stepped in. A decade after being welcomed into the Mans family, Natalia alleged that the Manses were financially exploiting her and physically abusing her.

In the final chapter of Natalia's story, a former adoptive family, the DePauls, attempts to uplift and support Natalia to gain financial and personal independence from the Manses. The twisty documentary series unveils more shocking details about Natalia's former adoptive family in four episodes released on Jan. 7 and 8 on Max.

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Here are some of the biggest bombshells from "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter:"

The DePauls helped Natalia leave the Manses

For a decade, Natalia lived with the uber-religious Mans family, who fostered countless other children. In those 10 years, Natalia relayed to her former almost-adoptive mom, Nicole DePaul, that the Manses were controlling her life. She also revealed that she lived with chronic pain that the Manses ignored. She even shared with Nicole that when she told the Mans, “I wanted to go," they called her "mental."

Unable to live under Antwon and Cynthia's control, Natalia asked the DePauls to help her escape from their firm grasp. Natalia and Nicole communicated through Natalia's overseas boyfriend, Neil, to set up the elaborate escape.

The DePaul family, originally from upstate New York, traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to secretly pick up Natalia at Antwon and Cynthia's church. Then Natalia and the DePauls drove 16 hours to New York. Finally, Natalia would be free.

Despite the escape, Antwon and Cynthia's hold on Natalia was tight and she immediately contacted her mom to explain why she left them.

"Once I got in [Nicole’s] car, I had to text my mom to let her know I wasn’t kidnapped or dead,” she says. “It was an emotional time. I had to spread my wings.”

The Manses were accused of abuse that Natalia adamantly denied

Throughout "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace," it is unveiled that there are numerous witnesses, including neighbors and friends, who alleged that the Manses abused their adoptive and foster children. Some even detailed claims that they saw the Manses hit Natalia with a belt, slap her in the face and even lock her in a room.

However, when asked, Natalia would deny any claims of abuse on camera. But Nicole and her daughter, Mackenzie, said Natalia painted a different story in private.

“Every now and then, she’ll drop little tidbits about the abuse that went on in the Manses’,” Nicole said. “Natalia has admitted to me firsthand that she has been whooped by both Cynthia and Antwon. She clarified that “a whooping is like a beating.”

Mackenzie said, “[Natalia] did mention whooping — scared-of-Antwon-type whooping. Hitting anybody with a disability is already messed up, let alone a child, let alone somebody with such severe dwarfism.”

Another witness, Robert Madewell claimed that Antwon and Cynthia abused his son and Natalia. Madewell also said he called Child Protective Services when his son told him Cynthia refused to let him use the bathroom.

The producers of the series said the Manses did not respond to the allegations.

Nicole theorized that the Manses were blackmailing Natalia

In the four-part series, it is confusing to decipher how Natalia felt about the Manses. One moment she relayed traumatic experiences she had with the couple and in another moment she strongly defended them.

This behavior leads Nicole to believe that the Manses were blackmailing Natalia for her support. The documentary series shared that both Cynthia and Antwon have confiscated Natalia's phone many times, gathering information about her romantic and sexual relationships.

Nicole theorized that they may have personal videos or messages of Natalia that they were threatening to leak if she spoke badly about them. Natalia never confirmed this theory but she does express that she fears backlash from her adoptive parents.

“I feel like with those videos, they’re going to start a f***ing war . . . My parents are gonna come out and say s**t . . . and it hurts because I never thought in my entire life that they would probably do that to me, but I’m really, really certain that they would,” she said.

“I’m worried about my relationship with Neil. I want to just live my life. I want to be with the person that I love, and I feel like they are really going to put some s**t out there.”

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Nicole added hidden cameras in her house

Eventually, Nicole took matters into her own hands because of Natalia's flip-flopping comments and opinions on the Manses. Nicole set up hidden cameras in her house to protect herself and her family and to corroborate Natalia's contradictory statements. But Nicole also shared that Natalia is fully aware of the cameras because she helped set them up.

The cameras catch numerous truthful moments from Natalia. In a conversation with her boyfriend, Neil, he told her, "I think maybe you should talk to someone about some of this stuff, you know? I mean, some of it was pretty brutal."

Natalia responded, "Hmm, yeah."

Then Neil said, "Especially from Antwon. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The Mans family refuses to help pay for Natalia's taxes

Alongside alleged physical abuse, the Manses were accused of using Natalia and other foster children to fund their lives.

Ultimately, Natalia demanded that the Manses pay her some of the money she earned from public appearances. However, they made her agree that she has no right to the Manses’ home even though it was purchased with Natalia's money. Natalia also agreed to let Cynthia remain as Natalia's monthly social security payment receiver.

Natalia also acquired a $104,000 tax bill because of Cynthia and Antwon. At first, the couple said they would help Natalia pay the taxes but they backed out.

“We told her we would go in on it because it was our money, but we never said we was paying that whole thing. That devil’s a liar,” Cynthia told Nicole and her husband, Vincent.

The Manses refused to help pay the taxes and to send bank statements, emphasizing to Nicole and Natalia that they would continue to benefit from her social security payments.

Natalia said Cynthia told her, “Maybe this is God’s way of saying you can move to the U.K.,” so that she could be with her boyfriend, Neil.

Natalia is diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and finally agrees to a life-changing surgery

At the end of the series, it is clear Natalia has deep-rooted trauma from her difficult childhood and adulthood. She admits that she does need therapy but is reluctant to ask for help.

On the other hand, Nicole supported Natalia in receiving the help she needed. Nicole met with a

rehabilitation psychologist, who further explained Natalia's reactive attachment disorder.

“Reactive attachment disorder is what happens when children don’t bond to their caregivers,” the therapist said. “Individuals with unaddressed trauma like Natalia has, these are behaviors that are coming from years of rejection and trauma.”

When Natalia's relationship with the Manses began to sour due to financial reasons, she hit a breaking point. This ultimately changed her mind on an important surgery that could alter her chronic pain.

"I always thought doing the surgery, I might be paralyzed, but then I learned if you don't get the surgery at all, you could still go paralyzed. I do want my back straight. I do want to take away the pain," she said.

"The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter" is available to stream on Max

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Six shocking bombshells from "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter"

The Investigation Discovery series exposes more alleged abuse inflicted on Natalia Grace

By Nardos Haile

Published January 8, 2025 4:56PM (EST)

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