The Curious Case of Natalia Grace (2023) s02e02 Episode Script
For the Love of Money
1
[Natalia]During the gag order,
I couldn't talk to Michael,
at all.
So, once the gag order
was lifted,
he reached out
and said he wanted to talk.
It's been years
since I talked to him.
I'm like, "Okay,
I'll hear him out."
Because, you know,
I had a lot of questions.
I have a lot of questions.
Let's see what he has to say.
[Michael] I feel like
I have to do this.
You know, I feel like
I'm compelled to do this.
You know, like
I have to finish this.
I just want
everybody to be happy,
and heal and live their lives.
I'm not here to lie,
I'm not here to hide,
I'm not here to scream,
I'm not here to curse.
But in the end,
a bad guy wouldn't
be here today doing this.
I'm not a bad guy.
[Natalia grunts softly]
[sighs]
-You're ready to
let God have his way.
-Amen.
This is it.
We here.
God take you to it,
he gonna take you through it.
That's right.
So I want you
to go in there,
and say everything
that is on your heart.
Everything that
you have suffered.
Everything that you
have dealt with.
It is okay to be angry.
Be confident, walk in there.
Because God's got you.
I got you.
So I want you
to go in there,
and be not afraid.
Because that devil
is a liar!
In the name of Jesus.
It was the weirdest moment
for reconciliation.
Everyone's there, wanting to
see these two family members
come back together,
after several years.
Michael is
sitting there, excited.
Well, God
let everything
be purged today
in the name of Jesus,
and let the record
be cleared up.
Because God's got
the highest court
in the land, that's the truth!
Where we go,
God is in control.
Antwon Mans, he begins
to give this impactful speech,
indicating that this
was Natalia's moment.
That she should go in
and be on the attack.
That she should be
confrontational.
It was as if he was giving
the Al Pacino speech
in Any Given Sunday.
"Every inch is your inch.
Every mile is your mile."
[Antwon] I ain't got no fear.
It's gonna be holy
around here.
"Go in there
and get the truth."
[Antwon] That devil's a liar!
A complete liar!
"Make him come to your will.
"God is in control."
[Antwon] Where we go,
God's in control.
It was
unusual, to say the least.
And we just ask God that He
would continue to shine
a light upon this situation.
In Jesus' name,
amen.
[Natalia] Let's do this,
[theme music playing]
-Antwon, how are you?
-How're you doing?
[Natalia] Hi.
Why are we here, Michael?
Why are we here?
That's That's
Well, if you're
talking philosophically,
I can't say the word right
That's probably something
more for the bishop over here.
But, why are we here?
No, like, I wanna know
why did you adopt me
in the first place.
[shouts] Why?
My name
is Brandon Davenport,
a detective
with Indiana State Police,
and the primary investigator
for the Natalia Barnett case.
Everybody
that gets involved
in this investigation
always start out as,
"Man, it's a really
crazy story."
I was first contacted
in 2019,
by a doctor
that had reported
a child that came
to their facility.
And the documents
didn't really add up to
exactly who
they were talking to.
She living with
the Mans family,
at the time.
And this girl,
who had dwarfism,
and her ID card,
even if it was expired
was saying
that she was an adult
when she was clearly a child.
Natalia deserves
her story to be told,
truthfully.
Natalia deserves justice.
But I don't know
if justice means
that, you know,
anybody goes to jail.
That's not my place.
I'm an investigator
and I just put
the facts together.
And it's really
a very unfair thing
that's happened.
The lines that were
pushed onto her,
the world should know
that it's not true.
She was a child.
When it comes to Barnetts,
let's talk about their motive.
You know, if you were saying
that somebody that has
money and power and influence
and then pretends to be,
like, everything's
picture perfect,
if they're more than likely
to get away with something,
there's always
that possibility.
I really think that
every child has a brilliant
potential inside of them.
And I've been working
with many, many children,
not just Jacob.
And in each one of them,
I see this little spark.
[Jackie Starbuck]Michael alleged that
Kristine thought
she had turned Jacob
into a genius.
And so, by adopting
a special needs child,
she could show
that she could do this again.
And he alleged that
when that didn't turn out just
the way that Kristine wanted,
that's why Natalia
didn't fit into
Kristine's narrative.
Kristine was writing a book,
which was ultimately
called The Spark,
about the academic success
of her oldest son, Jacob.
So, here's the timeline
regarding the book.
The Barnetts adopt Natalia
in 2010.
Kristine signs a book deal
in 2011,
and the book
is published in 2013.
So this whole time
that Natalia is part
of the Barnett household,
Kristine is
really working hard
to maintain her image.
Now, look.
We know Kristine
was no stranger
to making money
off her kids.
She has made
a ton off of Jacob.
In 2009, Jacob's Place,
the daycare center
that Kristine
and Michael ran,
made over $100,000.
With The Spark, she made
at least $500,000
just on the book deal.
And then there were donations.
That's enough
to build an empire.
There was also
a movie deal in the works.
Rosamund Pike
was supposed to
play Kristine.
Kristine had a web presence
of some kind
where she was
influencing people
to pay her
amounts of money
to have a phone call with her
and get some help.
[Karas]Kristine's organization
was pretty successful,
very early on.
She boasted do her friend
about a $60,000 loan
and a non-refundable
$35,000 "payment"
she received.
[deputy prosecutor]Do you know
how much money
Kristine Barnett made
off the sale of her book?
The advance on the book
was $600,000.
I have no knowledge
of any residuals
after the fact
because we got divorced
very soon thereafter.
Oh, that's hers.
I was to support the family.
Anything that she made
was for her.
[Jacob] This book
that she wrote,
there's a fraction
of the earnings
which were
supposed to go to her.
and 'cause,
like, I'm a pretty big
subject of the book
I mean, I'm on the cover, so.
Like, there was a fraction
of the money that was
supposed to go to me.
And so, she was,
you know, trusted with
With, you know,
making sure that
that money was spent
appropriately.
And you know that
It was spent.
I didn't
I didn't get a cent of it.
It's on the order
of $200,000
that was supposed
to go to me but didn't.
[Michael] She left him
with about five bucks.
To his words,
"She left me enough money
to get a cup of coffee."
[sighs] Who does that?
If I were to write
a book about my child,
and there was a large check
that was sent to me,
with the promise
that a fraction of it
would go to the child,
I would absolutely
save it for them.
And I'd find, like
you know, the part
of criteria for existence
is I need to be able
to sustain myself.
I I asked her about it,
and then she sort of
She came at me
with the excuse
of, "Oh, I used that money
so that you could
"go to school in Canada."
You know, at that point,
I just hung up on her.
Kristine said
that adopting me
was this mission of love.
And never once
did I see any love.
I felt like it was
a mission of, like,
boosting her ego
type of thing.
I felt like
she just wanted people
to be, like,
"Oh, my goodness!
"She's this amazing person.
"She just adopted
a little girl from Ukraine
who has dwarfism,
and has all these different
medical issues
and everything like that.
You know,
she's a great mom for wanting
to help somebody, right?"
[sighs in exasperation]
[Karas] In 2019,
years after
she got rid of Natalia,
Kristine is reaching out
to numerous people
soliciting donations
to support
the international campaign
to end the use
of seclusion, restraint,
physical and verbal abuse
of children with disabilities.
Something doesn't
sound right, here.
She's even asking
Freddie Gill for his help
because of his status
as a leader in the community.
[Freddie Gill]Kristine Barnett was like
She was an amazing person.
She would send me
text messages like
She's inviting me to
"Join the campaign
to end the
To end the, uh,
physical and verbal
abuse of children
with disabilities."
Um, what?
So, it's like a mask.
Like, just put on a mask,
have this really nice smile.
This, "I'm a great mom."
But then it's like
pull that mask off,
this is who she really is.
Like, your true colors.
Kristine was a monster.
I didn't know
what she was gonna do next.
[Karas] Based upon
Kristine's actions,
it certainly appears
that she had big plans
for Natalia.
She wanted her
to be the next spark.
Kristine is going to use
Natalia's physical disability
to make money,
as well as her
mental faculties.
Maybe she's a genius,
like Jacob.
Because Kristine made
a lot of money off of Jacob.
And now, it's Natalia's turn.
[Natalia] Hi.
When I was first
adopted by the Barnetts,
I really thought
that they were gonna
be my family.
I really wanted
a dad and a mom
that actually accepts
my disabilities
and loves me
as their daughter.
I used to, like,
watch a lot
of TV shows where
a mom and her daughter
were very close.
I thought that
Kristine was gonna be
the mom that I always wanted.
When I first got
to the Barnetts' house,
I remember
that Kristine and Michael
had both shown me around,
and then they
took me to my room
where there was, like,
this big dollhouse
and this princess bed,
and everything like that.
They showed me my closet,
which was a walk-in closet.
I was, like, "Whoa.'
And they even
Like, they lowered the shelves
and everything for me
so I could be able
to get my clothes.
You know, I was
just so happy.
There was a park,
right across the street.
We would hang out,
we would play games
and everything.
It was so much fun.
And I was going to school.
I was in first grade.
I was so excited
because I wanted
to go to school for as long
as I could remember.
I loved my classmates.
I loved my friends.
And, like, I loved
my first grade teacher.
[Brandon Davenport]The Barnetts pushed this
philosophy that Natalia
is really, really smart,
reading these advanced books.
You know, listen,
as an investigator,
I don't go by some
whimsical information.
You know, I wanna know.
I'm gonna ask those
I'm gonna ask those questions.
-[Davenport] Hey, how are you?
-[teacher] Good, how are you?
[Davenport]I'm not doing too bad.
So you worked
at an elementary school
during the same time
that Natalia Barnett
went there.
[Davenport] Kristine had
brought it to your attention
that they were questioning
how old Natalia was.
Did you ever question
Natalia's age? Or did you
[Davenport] Is she a prodigy?
I mean, is she
a standout student
that she's so smart
that she shouldn't be there?
I was over there one day
and Kristine just
looked at Natalia
and she said, "Can you read?"
She said, "Of course,
I can read. I'm not stupid."
And this is not
a little girl's voice.
And so Kris gave her
a Cosmopolitan magazine,
and put it down
in front of her.
Opened to an article,
and Natalia started reading
as well as you or I could.
How does someone
at six
read a Cosmo magazine?
Natalia, being able to read
an article out of Cosmo,
I mean, how many times
did she read that article
before she recorded her?
People can make a video
look however
they wanna make it look.
But the question
then becomes "Why?"
We're talking about
a little girl's life
that had changed forever
because certain statements
were made.
She was reading
an advanced book.
Well, here's what I do know.
Gateway Woods,
you know, who gets
the medical records
from Boston Hospital
also identified
that Natalia's abilities,
her aptitude,
were very,
very similar to the age
that we believe she is.
The school, I talked
to the officials there,
I talked to the teachers,
and they loved this kid.
They said,
"I mean,
she may have been able
to handle second grade,
"but we felt first grade
was more appropriate."
Kristine could be
pretty feisty.
We heard reports that
were concerning to us
about how Natalia's parents
interacted with her
They sounded like
they were mean
to her, honestly.
And so, if we ever brought
anything like that
up with Kristine,
she just flipped.
[Natalia] Kristine was like
"I'm taking her
out of school."
She took my friends
out of my life.
Just cut 'em off.
I didn't even get
a chance to say goodbye
to any of my friends
from school.
Nobody.
I didn't understand that
my whole life
was being controlled
on who I talked to
and everything.
I didn't understand
why, really, I got taken
out of school.
All I was told was
because they were
getting phone calls.
And I was hurting people
with my wheelchair,
running them over
and everything.
No, I wasn't.
Kristine took
Natalia out of school
to home school her
at "Barnett Academy".
This is the same place
where Jacob's transcripts
say he was educated.
At "Barnett Academy".
And Michael filed
a police report
alleging fraud
because Kristine passed him
in Japanese,
and he couldn't speak it,
and gave him an A
in making spaghetti.
I met with Michael Barnett.
And, you know,
I didn't approach him
with the expectation
I was gonna arrest him.
You know,
I was investigating
this particular issue.
He could have
He could have stopped
the conversation
but I think he had
a lot that he wanted
to resolve, also.
This transcript was
pretty ridiculous.
However, Jacob was a genius.
Natalia was not a genius.
Doesn't matter.
Kristine was trying
to pass off
Natalia as being able
to perform
academic skills
that she didn't have!
According to Kristine,
Natalia could even pass a GED,
if given the test.
Kristine thought
she had turned Jacob
into a genius.
She saved him
when no-one else could.
And according
to what Michael said,
that's what Kristine
planned to do with Natalia.
But the problem was that
Natalia didn't fit
into the narrative.
[Natalia] I was only, like,
six or seven years old.
And Kristine tries
to give me a physics paper
and I'm like,
"I don't know what I'm doing."
Like, I don't
Like, "What is this?"
And she's like,
"I know you know this.
"And you're gonna do it."
And then she walked away.
But I was stuck.
And
I guess she just got so mad
because I was telling,
like, "I don't know this."
And she pepper sprayed me.
Right in the face.
She said, "That's
what it's gonna feel like
every time that you do this."
I started rubbing my eyes.
She said "Don't do that.
It's just gonna
make it worse."
And she, literally,
would not let me wash it off
or anything.
She wouldn't help me.
All I know is
I wanna get this off my eyes.
This hurts!
But she didn't care
that she pepper sprayed me.
She doesn't care
that I was crying
because it hurts.
[sobbing]
[inhales deeply]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
She literally did it for
not knowing high school math.
I'm getting pepper sprayed.
[sprays]
I was seven years old.
I was supposed
to be in first grade.
And she took me
out of first grade.
All I knew
was how to be scared.
That was my normal.
But everything was just
about to get even worse.
[Karas] Within seven months
of adopting Natalia,
Kristine realized
Natalia was
an average student.
She wasn't the genius
that Jacob was.
So, Kristine's plan
is failing big time
and Natalia is a money pit.
Because she needs
a lot of surgery
for her medical problems.
[Natalia] Ever since
I was really little,
I've needed surgeries.
I was with the Barnetts
for just a little while
but I had
my surgery on my feet.
[Michael] We had
had her for six months.
Her feet would lock in place,
her Achilles needed to be,
I think, cut
and loosened
so she could move
her foot around.
The only thing
I remember mostly
is just going into
a surgery room
'cause it's like, all light.
And then getting
two shots in my arms
and I'm out.
And then next thing I know,
I have
casts on my feet.
When I had my surgery,
there was a lot of
rough nights with that.
And I remember
being in so much pain
that I had to take
pain medicine
or else I couldn't
get rid of it.
I always called Kristine,
because, you know,
she's my mom.
You know, moms are
supposed to be able to
take care of their kids.
Michael was actually
the one that gave me
my medicine.
And then he left.
And I was able to
go back to sleep after that.
I started thinking
if maybe Kristine and Michael
just didn't want
to take care of me
when they found out
how many surgeries I needed.
And the fact that
it would have been
a long recovery process
with all of them.
And, like, maybe she felt
like she was gonna be stuck,
instead of being able
to go out there
and, like,
show off her son.
I mean, everybody that we know
that has diastrophic dysplasia
has, you know, usually
a group of surgeries,
you know, probably close
to around five years old.
-Actually sooner, as a baby,
for the club feet.
-Sometimes sooner now,
as a baby,
with the club feet, right.
It was clear to them
that she needed,
you know, lots of surgeries
to her lower extremities
to straighten them.
The Barnetts gave her
a surgery on her ankle.
But one surgery
on her ankle is like
a drop in the bucket
for what we need.
And, you know
Every single thing
costs money.
Maybe that's part of
the problem with the Barnetts.
Because all of a sudden,
they start having problems.
Are you surprised?
I'm not.
Like, literally, my feet
This one, the way
my feet are shaped,
and the way I walk,
especially with my right foot,
it twists.
So, it would literally
be like scraping
the bottom part of the shoe.
And that's why I've had to get
special made shoes
because I can't wear
normal shoes.
They're at least, like,
$30,000.
These are my second pair.
They last for
a pretty long time.
I actually had to get
these patched up because
of how much I used them.
Every doctor I see,
they're like,
"Okay, we're gonna have to
do special made this
"or special made that."
I'm like
Everything I need
has to be special made.
[lawyer] Were you ever
specifically told by
the adoption agency
that Natalia
may require surgeries?
By the adoption agency? No.
You know, I guess,
like, in a sense
they did kinda cause
the pain that I have now
Because I couldn't
get my surgeries
because the doctors
didn't know what to do.
Like, there was just no way.
Like, they told me
"We don't know if we should
treat you as a kid,
"or do a treatment
as an adult."
Like, "We don't know."
I'm Veronica Maxwell.
I'm a retired FBI agent.
I served for 28 years
in the Agency
and investigated terrorism,
counter intelligence,
organized crime,
drugs and crimes
against children,
where I was exposed
to scenarios
not unlike some of the aspects
of Natalia Barnett.
Dealing with cases
regarding minors,
I believe I am
a very compassionate person.
And I always ran
towards the danger.
It was my job
to go and hunt down the truth.
The Natalia case intrigues me
because you have this person
who is extremely fragile.
And it is so complicated,
it involves travel
from other countries.
It involves numerous adults.
It sounds like
there may have been a point
where the Barnetts realized
that Natalia was
Was starting to be a burden.
Kristine Barnett was
a person who needed
to achieve her goal
with respect to her children,
and how other people view her
and maintain
a certain reputation.
And she wasn't
gonna back down.
This child is really
in her way right now.
[Natalia] Kristine just
started going off every day,
about something.
That's literally how it felt.
Because every time
Kristine came,
she was yelling at me
about something.
It felt like
the littlest stuff that I did
was gonna turn into
something crazy
when it shouldn't have.
And then that's when
she started saying
that I took stuff
from the boys.
Because they couldn't find,
like, two books
and some cars.
Natalia would find things
that were important to them,
like a Hot Wheel car,
she'd hide them,
she'd wait to be
crossing the street,
she would throw them into
the street and make sure
the boys saw it.
So they'd run in the traffic,
so they'd get run over.
[horn honking]
I didn't take anything.
I told Kristine,
I didn't take
any of their stuff.
And she just told me
I was lying.
I was not there
when she threw
one of the kids' toys.
I heard about that
from the boys.
Not just from Kris.
I did hear that story
from the boys.
The boys shared that with me.
[sobs]
She treated the boys
like they were her sons.
She treated them
like a normal mom would.
But with me, it was like
[sniffles]
It was like I always did
something wrong.
I was seven years old.
And I was just trying
to be a normal kid.
And it was like
in Kristine's eyes
I was doing something wrong,
every step I took.
Honestly, I can't even
remember if she even said
"I love you" to me.
[Karas] Kristine
and Natalia are not bonding.
They don't like each other.
And Natalia is going
to cost Kristine
what seems to be
the one thing
she cares about most.
Money.
[Natalia] I do believe
that the Barnetts
probably did want me
in the beginning.
But I think only once
they'd actually seen me,
and they'd seen
my disabilities,
I think it kinda
was just like,
"Well, maybe, like, we can't.
Like, maybe we can't."
But the thing is though,
if you felt like you couldn't,
why didn't you send me back?
Or maybe even try to find
somebody that did want me
and maybe I could have
been in a safer place.
Instead of
trying to feel like,
"Oh, we gotta keep
this reputation.
This is a little girl
with dwarfism,
who has so many
special needs,
so, you know
we gotta keep her.
Just so that way
people will be like,
'Hey, why did you
send her back?'"
I think it was
because they were just trying
to keep a good reputation.
Kristine's plan is failing.
Not only is Natalia
not a genius,
but she costs a lot.
In fact, she's
a financial drain
on Kristine.
She's not a genius.
She's not the next spark.
Kristine wants
to get rid of Natalia.
But we also know
that she's made
a half a million dollars
on her image as Supermom.
So how is she
supposed to get rid of
this child she adopted,
who is disabled,
and still preserve her image?
And so, it seems like
Natalia is now
the invisible daughter.
And Kristine is trying
to erase her from the family.
[Starbuck] The Sparkwas being written
and published
while Natalia was
part of the family.
The initial drafts
talked about
the family's adoption
of Natalia.
But the final book,
the ghostwriter
Laura Tucker,
she was told
to take all mentions
of adoption,
dwarf or dwarfism,
and Natalia,
out of the book.
The final book
does not mention Natalia
in any way, shape or form.
[Natalia] I do believe
that Kristine did try
to hide me from the world.
[children chattering
indistinctly]
One time, we went
to the park across the street.
She put me in the stroller
and she had a blanket over me.
And the boys got to go play
and everything like that.
I was stuck
in the stroller.
Someone came by
and was like,
"Does she wanna
go out and play and stuff?"
"Oh, no she's sleeping."
When I'm like wide awake.
I'm hearing everything,
wanting to go play.
She's literally
lying to people and saying,
"Oh, she's sleeping."
She didn't want
people to know
that I existed.
I felt like I was this
problem child.
She just, like,
flat out hated me.
I do not believe Kristine
should have that title
of "World's Greatest Mom."
Because she was
never the "World's
Greatest Mom" to me.
[Rachel Ambler] I saw
a difference in Kristine
with Natalia.
Her pride that she had
for her boys
wasn't the same pride
that she had for her.
I almost feel like
she was locking
herself in the house,
with Natalia
trying to fix her.
Make her like Kristine wanted.
And Natalia's a stubborn girl.
[Karas] It seems,
at this point,
Kristine cannot admit
that she's a failure
as a parent.
Kristine was hell-bent
on protecting her brand
and her business.
And when one plan failed,
she concocted another one.
That's how her mind worked.
Kristine turned Natalia
into a puppet
she could control.
She needed complete control
over everything
that Natalia said and did.
[Natalia] I don't remember
exactly when Kristine started
trying to make me
look like an adult.
She just started telling me
"You're older
than what you're saying."
I didn't understand
what that meant.
And then, she was like,
"You need to start saying
that you're 22."
I didn't understand
why she wanted me
to tell people
I was 22.
[Maxwell] The Barnetts
were looking
for a disabled child
to groom a certain way.
Kristine Barnett
appeared to be
the primary motivator
of the plan to get rid
of Natalia.
Natalia was, in fact,
going to perpetuate
the idea that she's older,
at the age where
she could live independently.
This is the best scenario
that Kristine Barnett
could come up with
and save face.
I have seen
a lot of people
trying to brainwash
their child
to speak their lies
for them,
to create the illusion
that something is real,
when, in fact,
it's just a made-up story.
And the child
becomes that story.
That fake story.
Kristine Barnett
wants her daughter
talking about herself
as a 22-year-old.
She wants the doctors
to hear it.
She wants
all the authorities
to hear
the story
that she's come up with.
And she was gonna do
whatever it took
to break Natalia down.
And she had to really
employ drastic measures.
[Natalia] Everybody thought
Kristine was this amazing mom,
who loved having
special needs kids,
who loved helping people,
and everything.
But they don't know
what Kristine actually did.
Kristine was the one
that beat me.
[in broken whisper]
Michael watched me
get beat.
[in normal voice]
Three times
he watched me get beat,
and didn't do anything.
[in broken whisper]
Why would you
Why are we here, Michael?
Why are we here?
That's That's
Well, if you're talking
philosophically
No, like, I wanna know
why did you adopt me
in the first place.
[shouts] Why?
Many of these questions,
there's not gonna be
a single answer to.
Look.
I've learned recently,
you and I had
the same monster.
And
We are here
[sighs]
because we both
were incredible victims
of an otherworldly
type of abuse.
Okay, first
I'm gonna say,
please don't cuss.
I'll do my best.
I I
I speak a certain way.
I'll do my best.
Second, what do you mean
by you were a victim?
Oh, God. [laughs]
This is all stuff
you don't know.
Well, you wanna elaborate?
Yeah, I do.
You wanna give me
time to do it?
This is not easy.
[Michael sighs]
I
had the same monster
you did.
I was exceptionally
controlled
and put down,
and threatened.
Was minimalized.
Anything that
was who I was,
was ripped from me.
And I was guided
and instructed to
be exactly what
she wanted me to be.
What do you mean
by "threatened"?
[exhales]
Um
Her favorite threat was
taking the boys away from me
and making sure I would
never see them ever again.
-Um
-Why didn't you leave?
That's the best question ever.
I tried.
[sniffs] And this is
These answers
are not gonna be
what you're looking for,
to a degree, but
I tried to leave her
no less than 10 times.
I ended up in a hospital
regularly over it.
Why did you marry her?
-I'm sorry?
-Let's not use curse words.
I know you probably,
you talk like this on
a regular basis, maybe.
But we try to keep
a clean environment.
So let's please respect that.
[Michael] This is really hard.
I don't--
That sounds crazy, right?
"Don't be a Christian"?
See, you can't impose
your beliefs
I don't wanna have fights.
Jesus is our man,
you understand that?
[Terrance] Guys, it's okay.
[Antwon] God is in control.
-Do you understand this?
-Guys, I'm out.
-[Terrance] I ask this
-[Antwon] God is in control.
-No, no. That's it.
-[Terrance] We're not.
We'll not do anything.
-Michael
-I tried. I tried.
-Okay, enough.
-I tried. I tried. I tried.
I tried. I tried.
I tried. I tried.
And I tried.
And I tried to get rid
of that mug and
And I'm trying to talk to her
so that I can fix this.
-[Antwon] Let me--
Let me talk to you.
-No. No.
-Let me talk to you.
Hold on a second.
-No.
-Let me talk to you.
-No.
-Come here for a second.
-No.
No.
I came here to try to find
Let me speak to you
for a second.
-[Michael] I cannot do this.
-Hold on, hold on.
Let him do that.
Let him do that.
I got it. I got it.
[Antwon] Michael,
come here for
a second, man.
I'm not here
to degrade you.
Hey, come here.
-I'm not here
-God would not do to me
what happened?
Leave me alone!
[crying]
[Antwon] No, listen to me.
[Michael] If there was a God,
he would let me die.
-He would have let me die!
-He don't want you to die
because he loves you.
All I wanted was
just to talk to him.
Ask my questions.
-God loves you.
-Please get away from me.
I would like you
to get away from me.
-Step away from me.
-All right.
He shouldn't have
talked to my dad that way.
All my dad asked
was that he didn't cuss.
Just have some respect.
My dad has the right
to ask that.
Just like I do.
I don't understand.
[Antwon] We're not gonna
put up with no spirits
up in this house though.
Period.
[car revving]
[Antwon] Where we go,
God's in control.
[Natalia]During the gag order,
I couldn't talk to Michael,
at all.
So, once the gag order
was lifted,
he reached out
and said he wanted to talk.
It's been years
since I talked to him.
I'm like, "Okay,
I'll hear him out."
Because, you know,
I had a lot of questions.
I have a lot of questions.
Let's see what he has to say.
[Michael] I feel like
I have to do this.
You know, I feel like
I'm compelled to do this.
You know, like
I have to finish this.
I just want
everybody to be happy,
and heal and live their lives.
I'm not here to lie,
I'm not here to hide,
I'm not here to scream,
I'm not here to curse.
But in the end,
a bad guy wouldn't
be here today doing this.
I'm not a bad guy.
[Natalia grunts softly]
[sighs]
-You're ready to
let God have his way.
-Amen.
This is it.
We here.
God take you to it,
he gonna take you through it.
That's right.
So I want you
to go in there,
and say everything
that is on your heart.
Everything that
you have suffered.
Everything that you
have dealt with.
It is okay to be angry.
Be confident, walk in there.
Because God's got you.
I got you.
So I want you
to go in there,
and be not afraid.
Because that devil
is a liar!
In the name of Jesus.
It was the weirdest moment
for reconciliation.
Everyone's there, wanting to
see these two family members
come back together,
after several years.
Michael is
sitting there, excited.
Well, God
let everything
be purged today
in the name of Jesus,
and let the record
be cleared up.
Because God's got
the highest court
in the land, that's the truth!
Where we go,
God is in control.
Antwon Mans, he begins
to give this impactful speech,
indicating that this
was Natalia's moment.
That she should go in
and be on the attack.
That she should be
confrontational.
It was as if he was giving
the Al Pacino speech
in Any Given Sunday.
"Every inch is your inch.
Every mile is your mile."
[Antwon] I ain't got no fear.
It's gonna be holy
around here.
"Go in there
and get the truth."
[Antwon] That devil's a liar!
A complete liar!
"Make him come to your will.
"God is in control."
[Antwon] Where we go,
God's in control.
It was
unusual, to say the least.
And we just ask God that He
would continue to shine
a light upon this situation.
In Jesus' name,
amen.
[Natalia] Let's do this,
[theme music playing]
-Antwon, how are you?
-How're you doing?
[Natalia] Hi.
Why are we here, Michael?
Why are we here?
That's That's
Well, if you're
talking philosophically,
I can't say the word right
That's probably something
more for the bishop over here.
But, why are we here?
No, like, I wanna know
why did you adopt me
in the first place.
[shouts] Why?
My name
is Brandon Davenport,
a detective
with Indiana State Police,
and the primary investigator
for the Natalia Barnett case.
Everybody
that gets involved
in this investigation
always start out as,
"Man, it's a really
crazy story."
I was first contacted
in 2019,
by a doctor
that had reported
a child that came
to their facility.
And the documents
didn't really add up to
exactly who
they were talking to.
She living with
the Mans family,
at the time.
And this girl,
who had dwarfism,
and her ID card,
even if it was expired
was saying
that she was an adult
when she was clearly a child.
Natalia deserves
her story to be told,
truthfully.
Natalia deserves justice.
But I don't know
if justice means
that, you know,
anybody goes to jail.
That's not my place.
I'm an investigator
and I just put
the facts together.
And it's really
a very unfair thing
that's happened.
The lines that were
pushed onto her,
the world should know
that it's not true.
She was a child.
When it comes to Barnetts,
let's talk about their motive.
You know, if you were saying
that somebody that has
money and power and influence
and then pretends to be,
like, everything's
picture perfect,
if they're more than likely
to get away with something,
there's always
that possibility.
I really think that
every child has a brilliant
potential inside of them.
And I've been working
with many, many children,
not just Jacob.
And in each one of them,
I see this little spark.
[Jackie Starbuck]Michael alleged that
Kristine thought
she had turned Jacob
into a genius.
And so, by adopting
a special needs child,
she could show
that she could do this again.
And he alleged that
when that didn't turn out just
the way that Kristine wanted,
that's why Natalia
didn't fit into
Kristine's narrative.
Kristine was writing a book,
which was ultimately
called The Spark,
about the academic success
of her oldest son, Jacob.
So, here's the timeline
regarding the book.
The Barnetts adopt Natalia
in 2010.
Kristine signs a book deal
in 2011,
and the book
is published in 2013.
So this whole time
that Natalia is part
of the Barnett household,
Kristine is
really working hard
to maintain her image.
Now, look.
We know Kristine
was no stranger
to making money
off her kids.
She has made
a ton off of Jacob.
In 2009, Jacob's Place,
the daycare center
that Kristine
and Michael ran,
made over $100,000.
With The Spark, she made
at least $500,000
just on the book deal.
And then there were donations.
That's enough
to build an empire.
There was also
a movie deal in the works.
Rosamund Pike
was supposed to
play Kristine.
Kristine had a web presence
of some kind
where she was
influencing people
to pay her
amounts of money
to have a phone call with her
and get some help.
[Karas]Kristine's organization
was pretty successful,
very early on.
She boasted do her friend
about a $60,000 loan
and a non-refundable
$35,000 "payment"
she received.
[deputy prosecutor]Do you know
how much money
Kristine Barnett made
off the sale of her book?
The advance on the book
was $600,000.
I have no knowledge
of any residuals
after the fact
because we got divorced
very soon thereafter.
Oh, that's hers.
I was to support the family.
Anything that she made
was for her.
[Jacob] This book
that she wrote,
there's a fraction
of the earnings
which were
supposed to go to her.
and 'cause,
like, I'm a pretty big
subject of the book
I mean, I'm on the cover, so.
Like, there was a fraction
of the money that was
supposed to go to me.
And so, she was,
you know, trusted with
With, you know,
making sure that
that money was spent
appropriately.
And you know that
It was spent.
I didn't
I didn't get a cent of it.
It's on the order
of $200,000
that was supposed
to go to me but didn't.
[Michael] She left him
with about five bucks.
To his words,
"She left me enough money
to get a cup of coffee."
[sighs] Who does that?
If I were to write
a book about my child,
and there was a large check
that was sent to me,
with the promise
that a fraction of it
would go to the child,
I would absolutely
save it for them.
And I'd find, like
you know, the part
of criteria for existence
is I need to be able
to sustain myself.
I I asked her about it,
and then she sort of
She came at me
with the excuse
of, "Oh, I used that money
so that you could
"go to school in Canada."
You know, at that point,
I just hung up on her.
Kristine said
that adopting me
was this mission of love.
And never once
did I see any love.
I felt like it was
a mission of, like,
boosting her ego
type of thing.
I felt like
she just wanted people
to be, like,
"Oh, my goodness!
"She's this amazing person.
"She just adopted
a little girl from Ukraine
who has dwarfism,
and has all these different
medical issues
and everything like that.
You know,
she's a great mom for wanting
to help somebody, right?"
[sighs in exasperation]
[Karas] In 2019,
years after
she got rid of Natalia,
Kristine is reaching out
to numerous people
soliciting donations
to support
the international campaign
to end the use
of seclusion, restraint,
physical and verbal abuse
of children with disabilities.
Something doesn't
sound right, here.
She's even asking
Freddie Gill for his help
because of his status
as a leader in the community.
[Freddie Gill]Kristine Barnett was like
She was an amazing person.
She would send me
text messages like
She's inviting me to
"Join the campaign
to end the
To end the, uh,
physical and verbal
abuse of children
with disabilities."
Um, what?
So, it's like a mask.
Like, just put on a mask,
have this really nice smile.
This, "I'm a great mom."
But then it's like
pull that mask off,
this is who she really is.
Like, your true colors.
Kristine was a monster.
I didn't know
what she was gonna do next.
[Karas] Based upon
Kristine's actions,
it certainly appears
that she had big plans
for Natalia.
She wanted her
to be the next spark.
Kristine is going to use
Natalia's physical disability
to make money,
as well as her
mental faculties.
Maybe she's a genius,
like Jacob.
Because Kristine made
a lot of money off of Jacob.
And now, it's Natalia's turn.
[Natalia] Hi.
When I was first
adopted by the Barnetts,
I really thought
that they were gonna
be my family.
I really wanted
a dad and a mom
that actually accepts
my disabilities
and loves me
as their daughter.
I used to, like,
watch a lot
of TV shows where
a mom and her daughter
were very close.
I thought that
Kristine was gonna be
the mom that I always wanted.
When I first got
to the Barnetts' house,
I remember
that Kristine and Michael
had both shown me around,
and then they
took me to my room
where there was, like,
this big dollhouse
and this princess bed,
and everything like that.
They showed me my closet,
which was a walk-in closet.
I was, like, "Whoa.'
And they even
Like, they lowered the shelves
and everything for me
so I could be able
to get my clothes.
You know, I was
just so happy.
There was a park,
right across the street.
We would hang out,
we would play games
and everything.
It was so much fun.
And I was going to school.
I was in first grade.
I was so excited
because I wanted
to go to school for as long
as I could remember.
I loved my classmates.
I loved my friends.
And, like, I loved
my first grade teacher.
[Brandon Davenport]The Barnetts pushed this
philosophy that Natalia
is really, really smart,
reading these advanced books.
You know, listen,
as an investigator,
I don't go by some
whimsical information.
You know, I wanna know.
I'm gonna ask those
I'm gonna ask those questions.
-[Davenport] Hey, how are you?
-[teacher] Good, how are you?
[Davenport]I'm not doing too bad.
So you worked
at an elementary school
during the same time
that Natalia Barnett
went there.
[Davenport] Kristine had
brought it to your attention
that they were questioning
how old Natalia was.
Did you ever question
Natalia's age? Or did you
[Davenport] Is she a prodigy?
I mean, is she
a standout student
that she's so smart
that she shouldn't be there?
I was over there one day
and Kristine just
looked at Natalia
and she said, "Can you read?"
She said, "Of course,
I can read. I'm not stupid."
And this is not
a little girl's voice.
And so Kris gave her
a Cosmopolitan magazine,
and put it down
in front of her.
Opened to an article,
and Natalia started reading
as well as you or I could.
How does someone
at six
read a Cosmo magazine?
Natalia, being able to read
an article out of Cosmo,
I mean, how many times
did she read that article
before she recorded her?
People can make a video
look however
they wanna make it look.
But the question
then becomes "Why?"
We're talking about
a little girl's life
that had changed forever
because certain statements
were made.
She was reading
an advanced book.
Well, here's what I do know.
Gateway Woods,
you know, who gets
the medical records
from Boston Hospital
also identified
that Natalia's abilities,
her aptitude,
were very,
very similar to the age
that we believe she is.
The school, I talked
to the officials there,
I talked to the teachers,
and they loved this kid.
They said,
"I mean,
she may have been able
to handle second grade,
"but we felt first grade
was more appropriate."
Kristine could be
pretty feisty.
We heard reports that
were concerning to us
about how Natalia's parents
interacted with her
They sounded like
they were mean
to her, honestly.
And so, if we ever brought
anything like that
up with Kristine,
she just flipped.
[Natalia] Kristine was like
"I'm taking her
out of school."
She took my friends
out of my life.
Just cut 'em off.
I didn't even get
a chance to say goodbye
to any of my friends
from school.
Nobody.
I didn't understand that
my whole life
was being controlled
on who I talked to
and everything.
I didn't understand
why, really, I got taken
out of school.
All I was told was
because they were
getting phone calls.
And I was hurting people
with my wheelchair,
running them over
and everything.
No, I wasn't.
Kristine took
Natalia out of school
to home school her
at "Barnett Academy".
This is the same place
where Jacob's transcripts
say he was educated.
At "Barnett Academy".
And Michael filed
a police report
alleging fraud
because Kristine passed him
in Japanese,
and he couldn't speak it,
and gave him an A
in making spaghetti.
I met with Michael Barnett.
And, you know,
I didn't approach him
with the expectation
I was gonna arrest him.
You know,
I was investigating
this particular issue.
He could have
He could have stopped
the conversation
but I think he had
a lot that he wanted
to resolve, also.
This transcript was
pretty ridiculous.
However, Jacob was a genius.
Natalia was not a genius.
Doesn't matter.
Kristine was trying
to pass off
Natalia as being able
to perform
academic skills
that she didn't have!
According to Kristine,
Natalia could even pass a GED,
if given the test.
Kristine thought
she had turned Jacob
into a genius.
She saved him
when no-one else could.
And according
to what Michael said,
that's what Kristine
planned to do with Natalia.
But the problem was that
Natalia didn't fit
into the narrative.
[Natalia] I was only, like,
six or seven years old.
And Kristine tries
to give me a physics paper
and I'm like,
"I don't know what I'm doing."
Like, I don't
Like, "What is this?"
And she's like,
"I know you know this.
"And you're gonna do it."
And then she walked away.
But I was stuck.
And
I guess she just got so mad
because I was telling,
like, "I don't know this."
And she pepper sprayed me.
Right in the face.
She said, "That's
what it's gonna feel like
every time that you do this."
I started rubbing my eyes.
She said "Don't do that.
It's just gonna
make it worse."
And she, literally,
would not let me wash it off
or anything.
She wouldn't help me.
All I know is
I wanna get this off my eyes.
This hurts!
But she didn't care
that she pepper sprayed me.
She doesn't care
that I was crying
because it hurts.
[sobbing]
[inhales deeply]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
She literally did it for
not knowing high school math.
I'm getting pepper sprayed.
[sprays]
I was seven years old.
I was supposed
to be in first grade.
And she took me
out of first grade.
All I knew
was how to be scared.
That was my normal.
But everything was just
about to get even worse.
[Karas] Within seven months
of adopting Natalia,
Kristine realized
Natalia was
an average student.
She wasn't the genius
that Jacob was.
So, Kristine's plan
is failing big time
and Natalia is a money pit.
Because she needs
a lot of surgery
for her medical problems.
[Natalia] Ever since
I was really little,
I've needed surgeries.
I was with the Barnetts
for just a little while
but I had
my surgery on my feet.
[Michael] We had
had her for six months.
Her feet would lock in place,
her Achilles needed to be,
I think, cut
and loosened
so she could move
her foot around.
The only thing
I remember mostly
is just going into
a surgery room
'cause it's like, all light.
And then getting
two shots in my arms
and I'm out.
And then next thing I know,
I have
casts on my feet.
When I had my surgery,
there was a lot of
rough nights with that.
And I remember
being in so much pain
that I had to take
pain medicine
or else I couldn't
get rid of it.
I always called Kristine,
because, you know,
she's my mom.
You know, moms are
supposed to be able to
take care of their kids.
Michael was actually
the one that gave me
my medicine.
And then he left.
And I was able to
go back to sleep after that.
I started thinking
if maybe Kristine and Michael
just didn't want
to take care of me
when they found out
how many surgeries I needed.
And the fact that
it would have been
a long recovery process
with all of them.
And, like, maybe she felt
like she was gonna be stuck,
instead of being able
to go out there
and, like,
show off her son.
I mean, everybody that we know
that has diastrophic dysplasia
has, you know, usually
a group of surgeries,
you know, probably close
to around five years old.
-Actually sooner, as a baby,
for the club feet.
-Sometimes sooner now,
as a baby,
with the club feet, right.
It was clear to them
that she needed,
you know, lots of surgeries
to her lower extremities
to straighten them.
The Barnetts gave her
a surgery on her ankle.
But one surgery
on her ankle is like
a drop in the bucket
for what we need.
And, you know
Every single thing
costs money.
Maybe that's part of
the problem with the Barnetts.
Because all of a sudden,
they start having problems.
Are you surprised?
I'm not.
Like, literally, my feet
This one, the way
my feet are shaped,
and the way I walk,
especially with my right foot,
it twists.
So, it would literally
be like scraping
the bottom part of the shoe.
And that's why I've had to get
special made shoes
because I can't wear
normal shoes.
They're at least, like,
$30,000.
These are my second pair.
They last for
a pretty long time.
I actually had to get
these patched up because
of how much I used them.
Every doctor I see,
they're like,
"Okay, we're gonna have to
do special made this
"or special made that."
I'm like
Everything I need
has to be special made.
[lawyer] Were you ever
specifically told by
the adoption agency
that Natalia
may require surgeries?
By the adoption agency? No.
You know, I guess,
like, in a sense
they did kinda cause
the pain that I have now
Because I couldn't
get my surgeries
because the doctors
didn't know what to do.
Like, there was just no way.
Like, they told me
"We don't know if we should
treat you as a kid,
"or do a treatment
as an adult."
Like, "We don't know."
I'm Veronica Maxwell.
I'm a retired FBI agent.
I served for 28 years
in the Agency
and investigated terrorism,
counter intelligence,
organized crime,
drugs and crimes
against children,
where I was exposed
to scenarios
not unlike some of the aspects
of Natalia Barnett.
Dealing with cases
regarding minors,
I believe I am
a very compassionate person.
And I always ran
towards the danger.
It was my job
to go and hunt down the truth.
The Natalia case intrigues me
because you have this person
who is extremely fragile.
And it is so complicated,
it involves travel
from other countries.
It involves numerous adults.
It sounds like
there may have been a point
where the Barnetts realized
that Natalia was
Was starting to be a burden.
Kristine Barnett was
a person who needed
to achieve her goal
with respect to her children,
and how other people view her
and maintain
a certain reputation.
And she wasn't
gonna back down.
This child is really
in her way right now.
[Natalia] Kristine just
started going off every day,
about something.
That's literally how it felt.
Because every time
Kristine came,
she was yelling at me
about something.
It felt like
the littlest stuff that I did
was gonna turn into
something crazy
when it shouldn't have.
And then that's when
she started saying
that I took stuff
from the boys.
Because they couldn't find,
like, two books
and some cars.
Natalia would find things
that were important to them,
like a Hot Wheel car,
she'd hide them,
she'd wait to be
crossing the street,
she would throw them into
the street and make sure
the boys saw it.
So they'd run in the traffic,
so they'd get run over.
[horn honking]
I didn't take anything.
I told Kristine,
I didn't take
any of their stuff.
And she just told me
I was lying.
I was not there
when she threw
one of the kids' toys.
I heard about that
from the boys.
Not just from Kris.
I did hear that story
from the boys.
The boys shared that with me.
[sobs]
She treated the boys
like they were her sons.
She treated them
like a normal mom would.
But with me, it was like
[sniffles]
It was like I always did
something wrong.
I was seven years old.
And I was just trying
to be a normal kid.
And it was like
in Kristine's eyes
I was doing something wrong,
every step I took.
Honestly, I can't even
remember if she even said
"I love you" to me.
[Karas] Kristine
and Natalia are not bonding.
They don't like each other.
And Natalia is going
to cost Kristine
what seems to be
the one thing
she cares about most.
Money.
[Natalia] I do believe
that the Barnetts
probably did want me
in the beginning.
But I think only once
they'd actually seen me,
and they'd seen
my disabilities,
I think it kinda
was just like,
"Well, maybe, like, we can't.
Like, maybe we can't."
But the thing is though,
if you felt like you couldn't,
why didn't you send me back?
Or maybe even try to find
somebody that did want me
and maybe I could have
been in a safer place.
Instead of
trying to feel like,
"Oh, we gotta keep
this reputation.
This is a little girl
with dwarfism,
who has so many
special needs,
so, you know
we gotta keep her.
Just so that way
people will be like,
'Hey, why did you
send her back?'"
I think it was
because they were just trying
to keep a good reputation.
Kristine's plan is failing.
Not only is Natalia
not a genius,
but she costs a lot.
In fact, she's
a financial drain
on Kristine.
She's not a genius.
She's not the next spark.
Kristine wants
to get rid of Natalia.
But we also know
that she's made
a half a million dollars
on her image as Supermom.
So how is she
supposed to get rid of
this child she adopted,
who is disabled,
and still preserve her image?
And so, it seems like
Natalia is now
the invisible daughter.
And Kristine is trying
to erase her from the family.
[Starbuck] The Sparkwas being written
and published
while Natalia was
part of the family.
The initial drafts
talked about
the family's adoption
of Natalia.
But the final book,
the ghostwriter
Laura Tucker,
she was told
to take all mentions
of adoption,
dwarf or dwarfism,
and Natalia,
out of the book.
The final book
does not mention Natalia
in any way, shape or form.
[Natalia] I do believe
that Kristine did try
to hide me from the world.
[children chattering
indistinctly]
One time, we went
to the park across the street.
She put me in the stroller
and she had a blanket over me.
And the boys got to go play
and everything like that.
I was stuck
in the stroller.
Someone came by
and was like,
"Does she wanna
go out and play and stuff?"
"Oh, no she's sleeping."
When I'm like wide awake.
I'm hearing everything,
wanting to go play.
She's literally
lying to people and saying,
"Oh, she's sleeping."
She didn't want
people to know
that I existed.
I felt like I was this
problem child.
She just, like,
flat out hated me.
I do not believe Kristine
should have that title
of "World's Greatest Mom."
Because she was
never the "World's
Greatest Mom" to me.
[Rachel Ambler] I saw
a difference in Kristine
with Natalia.
Her pride that she had
for her boys
wasn't the same pride
that she had for her.
I almost feel like
she was locking
herself in the house,
with Natalia
trying to fix her.
Make her like Kristine wanted.
And Natalia's a stubborn girl.
[Karas] It seems,
at this point,
Kristine cannot admit
that she's a failure
as a parent.
Kristine was hell-bent
on protecting her brand
and her business.
And when one plan failed,
she concocted another one.
That's how her mind worked.
Kristine turned Natalia
into a puppet
she could control.
She needed complete control
over everything
that Natalia said and did.
[Natalia] I don't remember
exactly when Kristine started
trying to make me
look like an adult.
She just started telling me
"You're older
than what you're saying."
I didn't understand
what that meant.
And then, she was like,
"You need to start saying
that you're 22."
I didn't understand
why she wanted me
to tell people
I was 22.
[Maxwell] The Barnetts
were looking
for a disabled child
to groom a certain way.
Kristine Barnett
appeared to be
the primary motivator
of the plan to get rid
of Natalia.
Natalia was, in fact,
going to perpetuate
the idea that she's older,
at the age where
she could live independently.
This is the best scenario
that Kristine Barnett
could come up with
and save face.
I have seen
a lot of people
trying to brainwash
their child
to speak their lies
for them,
to create the illusion
that something is real,
when, in fact,
it's just a made-up story.
And the child
becomes that story.
That fake story.
Kristine Barnett
wants her daughter
talking about herself
as a 22-year-old.
She wants the doctors
to hear it.
She wants
all the authorities
to hear
the story
that she's come up with.
And she was gonna do
whatever it took
to break Natalia down.
And she had to really
employ drastic measures.
[Natalia] Everybody thought
Kristine was this amazing mom,
who loved having
special needs kids,
who loved helping people,
and everything.
But they don't know
what Kristine actually did.
Kristine was the one
that beat me.
[in broken whisper]
Michael watched me
get beat.
[in normal voice]
Three times
he watched me get beat,
and didn't do anything.
[in broken whisper]
Why would you
Why are we here, Michael?
Why are we here?
That's That's
Well, if you're talking
philosophically
No, like, I wanna know
why did you adopt me
in the first place.
[shouts] Why?
Many of these questions,
there's not gonna be
a single answer to.
Look.
I've learned recently,
you and I had
the same monster.
And
We are here
[sighs]
because we both
were incredible victims
of an otherworldly
type of abuse.
Okay, first
I'm gonna say,
please don't cuss.
I'll do my best.
I I
I speak a certain way.
I'll do my best.
Second, what do you mean
by you were a victim?
Oh, God. [laughs]
This is all stuff
you don't know.
Well, you wanna elaborate?
Yeah, I do.
You wanna give me
time to do it?
This is not easy.
[Michael sighs]
I
had the same monster
you did.
I was exceptionally
controlled
and put down,
and threatened.
Was minimalized.
Anything that
was who I was,
was ripped from me.
And I was guided
and instructed to
be exactly what
she wanted me to be.
What do you mean
by "threatened"?
[exhales]
Um
Her favorite threat was
taking the boys away from me
and making sure I would
never see them ever again.
-Um
-Why didn't you leave?
That's the best question ever.
I tried.
[sniffs] And this is
These answers
are not gonna be
what you're looking for,
to a degree, but
I tried to leave her
no less than 10 times.
I ended up in a hospital
regularly over it.
Why did you marry her?
-I'm sorry?
-Let's not use curse words.
I know you probably,
you talk like this on
a regular basis, maybe.
But we try to keep
a clean environment.
So let's please respect that.
[Michael] This is really hard.
I don't--
That sounds crazy, right?
"Don't be a Christian"?
See, you can't impose
your beliefs
I don't wanna have fights.
Jesus is our man,
you understand that?
[Terrance] Guys, it's okay.
[Antwon] God is in control.
-Do you understand this?
-Guys, I'm out.
-[Terrance] I ask this
-[Antwon] God is in control.
-No, no. That's it.
-[Terrance] We're not.
We'll not do anything.
-Michael
-I tried. I tried.
-Okay, enough.
-I tried. I tried. I tried.
I tried. I tried.
I tried. I tried.
And I tried.
And I tried to get rid
of that mug and
And I'm trying to talk to her
so that I can fix this.
-[Antwon] Let me--
Let me talk to you.
-No. No.
-Let me talk to you.
Hold on a second.
-No.
-Let me talk to you.
-No.
-Come here for a second.
-No.
No.
I came here to try to find
Let me speak to you
for a second.
-[Michael] I cannot do this.
-Hold on, hold on.
Let him do that.
Let him do that.
I got it. I got it.
[Antwon] Michael,
come here for
a second, man.
I'm not here
to degrade you.
Hey, come here.
-I'm not here
-God would not do to me
what happened?
Leave me alone!
[crying]
[Antwon] No, listen to me.
[Michael] If there was a God,
he would let me die.
-He would have let me die!
-He don't want you to die
because he loves you.
All I wanted was
just to talk to him.
Ask my questions.
-God loves you.
-Please get away from me.
I would like you
to get away from me.
-Step away from me.
-All right.
He shouldn't have
talked to my dad that way.
All my dad asked
was that he didn't cuss.
Just have some respect.
My dad has the right
to ask that.
Just like I do.
I don't understand.
[Antwon] We're not gonna
put up with no spirits
up in this house though.
Period.
[car revving]
[Antwon] Where we go,
God's in control.