Neighbours of 'child' who was 22-year-old woman say she acted inappropriately around men and young boys

When Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Ukrainian Natalia Grace in 2010, they were under the impression she was a six-year-old child with a rare bone growth disorder.

However they later discovered she was actually a 22-year-old woman and the wild case is covered in a new documentary.

In yet another shocking twist, Natalia's behaviour around young boys and men was a cause for concern for those around her.

After Natalia apparently made several attempts to kill her adoptive parents, the family deserted her in an apartment in Westfield, Indiana in 2013.

Michael and Kristine paid for the first three months of her rent upfront and allegedly gave her all the furniture she needed plus groceries.

It didn’t take long for Natalia to make quite the impression on her neighbours. One married couple who lived across the street, Melanie and Toby Miles, said that they thought she was ‘just a little kid’ at first but after speaking with her they thought otherwise.

Another neighbour, Andrew Rice, said Natalia told him she was 26 when they met.

All three neighbours said she ‘emitted’ an ‘unpleasant body odour’.

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Neighbour Sue McCallum, recalled: “She was really a pest to everybody. Nobody liked her, nobody. They kind of felt sorry for her, but they were leery about her and really didn't want her around."

The neighbours also recalled their concerns about her behaviour around men and young boys.

Toby Miles said: "She would want to know when our son would be home. Not our daughter, our son. That's when things went from uncomfortable to weird and almost borderline inappropriate.

"It just got to a point where we felt uncomfortable as parents."

Similarly, Sue McCallum’s grandson said Natalia made him feel ‘uncomfortable’ when they were playing video games and he told her to leave their apartment.

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“I thought how dare you try to do anything to my grandson. I just wanted to go after her," the grandmother said, explaining she banned her grandson from inviting Natalia over to their apartment again.

"She seemed to hang around all the older, real old guys a lot and she was talking sexual things to them," said McCallum.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace airs for three consecutive nights on Investigation Discovery starting on Monday, May 29, from 9-11pm ET/PT.

Topics: True Crime, Natalia Grace

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.