Episode
Natalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
36:36
Published: Wed Feb 01 2023
Description
Writer Jeff Topolski (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) joins us this week to answer the question: Was Natalia Grace Barnett a murderous woman parading as a child, or a victim of terrible adoptive parents? In 2010, a 6-year-old girl named Natalia Grace was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett. The Barnetts, as well as national headlines, would go on to portray Natalia as a disturbed con artist pretending to be a child. According to the Barnetts, she made their lives hell and repeatedly threatened to kill their children. In today's episode, we're going to break this whole story down, piece by piece, and examine all it's layers to figure out what was really going on. Buckle up because it's going to get even crazier than what the headlines were writing. Thank you so much to Jeff Topolski for joining me today. You can follow the podcast on instagram @heartstartspounding. Have a heart pounding story you'd like to share on the podcast? Email [email protected] Links cited in this episode: https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Mothers-Nurturing-Genius-Autism/dp/0812983564?asin=0812983564&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9884021/Russia-seeks-return-of-adopted-boy-in-US-after-brothers-death.html https://nypost.com/2010/04/09/us-woman-put-adopted-russian-son-on-one-way-flight-alone-back-to-homeland/ https://www.insideedition.com/couple-who-hoped-to-adopt-ukrainian-orphan-shocked-people-think-shes-an-adult-posing-as-child-56997 https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2022/02/20/kristine-michael-barnett-natalia-update/6802645001/ https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2019/09/18/michael-kristine-barnett-daughter-abandon-ukraine-adoption-dwarfism-prodigy/2364895001/ https://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/27/kristine-and-michael-barnett-walked-a-small-crowd-of-reporters-and-news-cameras-on-their-to-their-in/3779458002/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7479061/Mom-claims-Ukrainian-daughter-9-adopted-really-22-year-old-dwarfism.html
Chapters
Comparing the plot of "Orphan" with the real scandal of Natalia Grace, a young girl from Ukraine who was allegedly adopted by an Indiana couple, but accused of being a sociopath posing as a child.
00:00 - 03:16 (03:16)
Summary
Comparing the plot of "Orphan" with the real scandal of Natalia Grace, a young girl from Ukraine who was allegedly adopted by an Indiana couple, but accused of being a sociopath posing as a child.
EpisodeNatalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
PodcastHeart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries
The speaker is sharing her experience of watching a horrifying movie and then overthinking it to the extent that she is scared to even lay in her bed.
03:16 - 11:07 (07:50)
Summary
The speaker is sharing her experience of watching a horrifying movie and then overthinking it to the extent that she is scared to even lay in her bed. She is also discussing her irritation with herself for carrying her child around everywhere even after watching her run.
EpisodeNatalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
PodcastHeart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries
The speaker discusses the stress of trying to prove oneself as legitimate in an adoption situation while also navigating red flags and withheld information.
11:07 - 16:36 (05:28)
Summary
The speaker discusses the stress of trying to prove oneself as legitimate in an adoption situation while also navigating red flags and withheld information.
EpisodeNatalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
PodcastHeart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries
The speaker wonders if the initial lack of action towards the disturbing behavior of a person named Natalia was because they were trying to figure out how to work with it.
16:36 - 23:38 (07:01)
Summary
The speaker wonders if the initial lack of action towards the disturbing behavior of a person named Natalia was because they were trying to figure out how to work with it. They say that the adults may have learned this behavior from their previous experiences.
EpisodeNatalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
PodcastHeart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries
The lack of information about the girl found in a closet makes it difficult to determine her background and development.
23:38 - 32:33 (08:55)
Summary
The lack of information about the girl found in a closet makes it difficult to determine her background and development. However, her story was popular enough to gain the attention of Hollywood and sell her life rights.
EpisodeNatalia Grace: ’Orphan’ Horror Movie Come To Life (feat. Jeff Topolski)
PodcastHeart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries
The Russian banned drug has undetermined effects on children and caused a significant increase in child mortality rates in Russia and the United States.
32:33 - 36:24 (03:50)
Summary
The Russian banned drug has undetermined effects on children and caused a significant increase in child mortality rates in Russia and the United States. The impacts of the drug are hard to determine as there are many layers to the issue.