The Barnetts Were the Second Family to Adopt Natalia Grace — What Happened to the First?

The story of Natalia Grace has been told in documentaries, via podcasts, numerous articles, and a fictionalized limited series that premiered on Hulu in March 2025. It has fascinated people in and outside of the true crime community because it is both heartbreaking and enraging. Grace first came to the United States from Ukraine in 2009 when she was 6 years old.

She was initially brought to America by a family in New Hampshire, but it wasn't until a couple in Indiana adopted Grace that things took a wild turn. The Barnetts accused Grace, who suffered from a rare form of dwarfism, of lying about her age as well as plotting to kill them. They abandoned her and fled to Canada. She went on to find a new family who was allegedly abusive before landing in a permanent living situation. This begs the question: Why did her first family give her up?

Michael and Kristine Barnett were eager to tell their side of the story in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, which was released in May 2023. In it, Michael revealed that he and his wife adopted Grace from Adoption by Shepherd Care (ASC), which facilitates international adoptions. Following the premiere of the documentary, the agency released a statement saying they had nothing to do with Grace's actual adoption, which was carried out by a court in Indiana.

The statement from ASC, which has since been removed from their website, also revealed that the adoption agency spoke with Dyan and Gary Ciccone, the couple from New Hampshire. Evidently, the Ciccones were interested in rehoming Grace. According to court documents obtained by People, they relinquished their parental rights due to Grace's "disruptive behavior." The Barnetts adopted her in 2010.

Three years after Grace was adopted by the Barnetts, the New Hampshire Union Leader covered a story about Russian adoptions in their state. Russian President Vladimir Putin had just signed a law that banned Americans from adopting Russian children. The outlet spoke with Dyan, who was on the board of directors of New Hope for Children, an adoption agency that specialized in helping families adopt Russian children.

"This was sort of a slap in the face to our families and the kids," said Dyan. "We were hopeful that President Putin would not sign it. We were hoping it was political posturing." She told the outlet that New Hope has helped between 10 and 12 families adopt Russian children each year, and it can cost more than $25,000 per family. She was worried about when this would be resolved.