ALL ANTWON ARRAIGNMENT_JUDGE BAILIFF COURTROOM_CROWD CYNTHIA DARYL DEIDRA DRYSDALE DR_DUPONT DR_LAWRENCE DR_LAWRENCE_MICHAEL DR_PERKINS DR_PHIL DR_RUSSO DR_YOUNG FEMALE_ATTENDEE JACOB JENNIFER JENNIFER_MICHAEL JUDGE_FABER KINNARD KRISTINE KRISTINE_MICHAEL MALE_ATTENDEE MICHAEL MR_MABRY NATALIA NATALIA_SKYE OFFICE_CROWD SKYE STARBUCK STEPHEN TONI NATALIA This was 2012. It was starting to get warm, I remember, but they didn't let us go outside that much at Larue. NATALIA Okay, you ready for a creepy one? SKYE Yeah. NATALIA Okay. So, once upon a time, there was a girl named Oksana. She was very happy. But then one day her mommy died. SKYE How did she die? NATALIA Uh, I don't know she got hit by a train. Anyway, Oksana's father then married a new lady who had a daughter of her own, but they were both very mean. One day, the wicked stepmother said, "We don't need two daughters. Send this ugly one away." So they moved Oksana into a cottage deep in the woods, all by herself, and the cottage was said to be haunted. So sure enough, that first night, there was a rapping at the door. Oksana was frightened. She tried to ignore it, but the sound continued. So finally, Oksana crept over to the door. When she opened it, there was no one there. When she went to close it, there was a voice. "Feed me, feed me." Well, she looked all around, but there w-- there was no one there. But then she realized down at her feet, talking to her was... a cow head! NATALIA SKYE TONI What's going on ladies? You know you can't be in each other's beds. SKYE Oh, but please. Can't we play a little longer? TONI I'm afraid not. I'm here to move Natalia. NATALIA Oh, uh, a-am I going home? TONI No. Actually, we got some paperwork saying you're older than we thought, a lot older. You're being moved to the adult wing. NATALIA The adult wing? SKYE Wait, you're a grownup? NATALIA I-I don't understand. Who said I was? I-I'll tell them they're wrong. TONI That won't work. NATALIA No, please, I wanna stay with Skye. We're friends. Please tell me what's going on. TONI Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Let's go. NATALIA No, please. I-I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. Pl-Please, please let me come back! NATALIA Please, please, why can't I just stay where I was? NATALIA No, no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait. I forgot my bunny, Hercules. He's my best friend. TONI Natalia, you have to behave, or they will restrain you. This is not like the kids' wing. They're not gonna give you a warning. Do you understand? NATALIA But I can't sleep without her. No, no. No, no! NATALIA I never saw Hercules again. NATALIA No! NATALIA Sorry. I-It's stupid to get upset over a dumb toy. CYNTHIA The heck it is. That was your bunny and they took it from you. I don't want you to have to keep rehashing all this Tali-boo. Do you have kids, detective? DRYSDALE I do not. CYNTHIA Okay, so let me explain something to you. As a parent, you try real hard to keep your kids from hurting. Every day that we don't fix what those people did to her, Tali is hurting. She can't get surgery, go to school. Her x-rays literally prove she's a kid. So how is this so hard for you to fix? DRYSDALE Natalia, I'm sorry to ask you all those questions about your time at the hospital, but I'm glad I did because I think you just found our strategy. NATALIA I did? DRYSDALE Whatever it was the Barnetts were up to, they covered their tracks. The files from Natalia's re-aging are sealed in probate court. And since we can't see them, we can't argue that the re-aging decision was wrong. But we can argue that it was made in the wrong way. NATALIA I don't get it. CYNTHIA DRYSDALE When you were re-aged, you didn't have a lawyer, didn't see a judge. The Barnetts went out of their way to keep you from being involved. They literally locked you in a psychiatric hospital. She wasn't given due process. CYNTHIA And? DRYSDALE And I'll need to subpoena Natalia's records, but when they confirm that she was in the hospital the whole time, that she went in a kid and came out an adult, we should better get the ruling thrown out. NATALIA Can I get to be a kid again? DRYSDALE We just have to show they didn't give you a voice. NATALIA Woo! MICHAEL It was 2014. We've been in Canada almost a year. I remember because it was Valentine's Day and I wanted to make a big show for it. MICHAEL We've been through so much and it felt like a chance to celebrate our rock solid Barnett bond. MICHAEL Paging all Barnett boys, all Barnetts to the breakfast table! Oh, happy Valentine's Day, my dudes. I made pancakes! MICHAEL MICHAEL My younger two were cruising. Killing it at school and we've been getting into all kinds of father son games: archery, bowling, foosball. MICHAEL Sorry. MICHAEL We're fools for foos. My oldest Jake had sailed through his first semester of grad school. MICHAEL Oh, hello bud, I made pancakes. JACOB Sorry, Dad, too busy. MICHAEL What? Too busy for whipped cream? Come on. JACOB Fine. I'll just eat the bacon though. I'll sugar crash. MICHAEL Gotcha, gotcha. Saddle up. How's the paper coming? Fermillion doubling, right? Although, do you really need a PhD to double fermillion? I mean, two times fermillion is eight billion, am I right? JACOB It's fermion doubling, Dad. MICHAEL What? That's what I said. MICHAEL And my wife, Kristine and I, were in kind of a second honeymoon phase, but she was mostly out on the honeymoon without me, touring all over giving speeches about autism. KRISTINE Well, I'd love to do the podcast, but I have clients all day Thursday, and I'm speaking at the Waterloo Science Association that night. MICHAEL Her book was a bestseller and they just announced they were gonna make a movie of it starring Rosamund Pike as Kristine. KRISTINE Uh-huh. MICHAEL And let me tell you, that casting was spot on. Kristine had been looking fine. MICHAEL Happy love day, my love. KRISTINE I can do it in Vancouver. As long as we carve out some time for the teacher training. MICHAEL She was super busy, but I got it. I had an awesome new job, too. MICHAEL So short and long, we were great. And finally put Natalia behind us in the rear view mirror. We could breathe that clean Canadian air. MICHAEL MICHAEL Or so we thought. MICHAEL I am not totally sure, but I-I think it says they want to turn her into a kid again. KRISTINE But they can't do that, can they? MICHAEL Wait, h-hold on, let me-- let me see, okay? KRISTINE Okay, okay. MICHAEL All right. Okay. Okay, look here. Right here. "Because we are the guardians, I think we can file notice with the court and-and-and-and just-just get rid of the en-- the entire request." I mean, just say no, you know? KRISTINE Okay. MICHAEL Yeah, it's okay. KRISTINE Whew. Okay. Michael, for a second there, I was right back in a dark place. MICHAEL I know. I know, but hey, look at me. KRISTINE Yeah. MICHAEL We're good. KRISTINE Are you sure? MICHAEL We're fine, we're fine. KRISTINE Okay. MICHAEL Come here. Mm. KRISTINE MICHAEL MICHAEL Mm. KRISTINE So, you'll take care of it while I'm in Vancouver? MICHAEL What? When are you going to Vancouver? KRISTINE This afternoon. Babe, I told you. MICHAEL Wait, wait, it's Valentine's Day. Y-- You just got back and well, papa misses mama. It's been way too long. KRISTINE I know, but it's only two days. And then it's you plus me. KRISTINE MICHAEL KRISTINE That's my agent. Thanks for taking care of this. You are... This is Kristine Barnett. Yes, I think I can make that work. Uh-huh. MICHAEL And I said I could handle it. I figured that would be it. The one letter, done and doner. MICHAEL But they just kept filing the same petition to re-age over and over. MICHAEL It became this never ending nightmare of legal paperwork that went on for three flipping years. MICHAEL I thought it would never end. MICHAEL Until finally in August, 2017, it did. KRISTINE Temperature's great. MICHAEL Can I borrow my wife for a minute, please? KRISTINE Michael, Daryl came all the way here to do me a favor because I've been so busy. DARYL KRISTINE I haven't been able to get to the salon. MICHAEL It's about her. KRISTINE Oh, all right. Daryl, give us a second. DARYL But I still have to blow you out. KRISTINE Okay, just-- I'll be quick. DARYL I don't want you to get too dry. KRISTINE Okay. MICHAEL We'll make sure to keep her wet, Daryl, thank you. KRISTINE Okay, well spill it. Seeing how I'm standing here air drying. MICHAEL Well, excuse me. Okay, but there's gonna be a hearing and apparently the-the family that Natalia has been staying with, they want to be her legal guardians now. KRISTINE They wanna adopt her? MICHAEL Yeah. It's basically like adoption, but for a-a disabled adult. KRISTINE Can I see? MICHAEL Uh, yeah. MICHAEL I mean, the more I think about it, I think this could be good. You know? I mean, if they want to take care of her, I say we let 'em, you know? Just finally wash our hands of this, right? KRISTINE Do you seriously not see what this is about? The only reason we've been able to deny these petitions is 'cause we're her legal guardians. The second that goes away, they can make her a kid again. Do you know what happens if they do that? Then they can say we abandoned a child. And do you see why that would be really bad? Why that would ruin our lives? MICHAEL Uh, I mean, when you say it like that. KRISTINE Whatever, I'll call Val. She'll have a good attorney. But you need to get down there so you can be at the hearing, too. This Natalia thing cannot keep rearing its head. MICHAEL Now? What? I thought we were gonna have a date night. KRISTINE Until you fix this, the shop is closed. MICHAEL So long story, not so short. Val says you're the best lawyer in Indianapolis. And you know, at first I was pissed to have to call in sick and make the long trip. But then as soon as I crossed the border into Indiana, I was like, "Oh my god, I can breathe again." MICHAEL I already got my Culver's custard, you know? KINNARD Mm. MICHAEL And then I'm meeting up with some buddies for my Circuit City days. And I don't think I realized how lonely I've been in-in Canada, you know, and-and just being back here, I just-- I just feel like myself again. MICHAEL It's like I'm on vacation. KINNARD Yeah, not a lot of people feel that way about a court order. MICHAEL Well, just lucky, I guess. KINNARD Okay, uh, have a donut. MICHAEL Oh, yeah. Thank you. KINNARD Let's, uh, let's talk about this hearing. MICHAEL Yeah, we gotta get into this because I am in the dog house with the wife until I get this solved. KINNARD Mm. MICHAEL She's got it in her head that Natalia is just using this whole change of guardianship to reverse her age back. KINNARD No, absolutely, absolutely. Your wife is right. And you know, it's not a bad strategy since you two denied all the past petitions. MICHAEL Wait, but you-you can, uh, fight that right? KINNARD Well, tell me this. Um, back in the day, what evidence did you guys use to change her age? Because they're saying the whole thing wasn't exactly copacetic. MICHAEL That-- Well, that's a bunch of because we had a doctor analyze all of her records and I'm sure he would speak on our behalf. KINNARD Ah! Oh, that's a start. What else? MICHAEL Uh, well, we have this file at our house. We call it, uh, the Natalia papers. Um, I could probably get my wife to, uh, take some photos and just send those over. KINNARD That would be swell. MICHAEL Okay, great. This might take a second 'cause she's not the most tech savvy. KINNARD Okay. Oh, there she is. Gotta change that ringtone; I keep forgetting. KINNARD MICHAEL Just hold on one second. Hey, babe. No, no, it's super easy. You-- You take the photos, you open the photo app, you select all, and then you create a shared album, and you just send that to me. Yep, that'll do it. Thank you so much. Okay. Be here in a few moments. MICHAEL These donuts are really good, by the way. KINNARD Hmm. MICHAEL If you had to be a donut, what kind of donut would you be? I think I'd be a cronut. KINNARD We can just wait. MICHAEL Okay. Oh, and here we are. We've got some doctor letters. We got immigration papers, all kinds of stuff. KINNARD Excellent. Okay. This it? MICHAEL I mean, yeah, more or less, why? KINNARD Uh, wow, okay. Well, suppose less can be more sometimes. Uh, y-you know what would be helpful though, is, uh, if you wrote a statement for me to read on your behalf about why you wanted to retain-- I'm sorry, man. MICHAEL What? KINNARD I think I might have, uh, scrolled too far. But hey, looks like you're out the dog house. MICHAEL Um, I don't, uh... Oh. I don't think these are-are f-for me. We haven't been... Oh my God. Oh-- Oh my God. KINNARD Uh, it's all right. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Lena! MICHAEL Sorry, dude. KINNARD Yeah, it's okay. You're okay. MICHAEL Call her, Michael. ON-SCREEN TEXT "Kristine Mobile 0458 555 222" MICHAEL Tell her how you feel. MICHAEL Fuck that. MICHAEL Oh shit. Okay, uh... Oh, okay. Okay. KRISTINE Hello, Michael. MICHAEL KRISTINE You know I can hear you breathing. I mean, what the heck, Mike? Did you hack my phone? KRISTINE I don't have time for this. What is going on down there? MICHAEL What's going on? Uh, I guess I was a little thrown by the evidence you sent over. The doctor letter and the immigration papers were great, but I wasn't totally sure what you wanted me to do with the pictures of your crotch! The titty pics! Beautiful, very helpful. Though, I do have to wonder if those were meant for me, seeing as how you haven't let me anywhere near the ladies in god knows how long! KRISTINE Are you trying to imply something, Michael? MICHAEL Yes, I think I am. Who are those pictures for 'cause I don't think they were for me. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Are you sleeping with the fucking hairdresser? Jesus. KRISTINE Have you lost your mind? Daryl is gay. MICHAEL No, no, they always say that. KRISTINE Listen to yourself. You sound like a crazy person. Of course, those photos were meant for you. Just a little thank you for handling things. MICHAEL Really, really? Okay, so let me get this straight. You wanted me to open them up in front of Val's lawyer, right? Why, you want-- you want to thank him too? Is that it? KRISTINE Oh, for Pete's sake. Why are you picking a fight with me right now? I've been a nervous wreck worrying about what's going on down there. I could barely eat. I can't sleep. And this is what you're worried about. MICHAEL This is our marriage. What? KRISTINE Oh, don't be so dramatic. MICHAEL I don't-- I can't even-- Oh my God. I can't-- I can't do this anymore. KRISTINE What? What can't you do? MICHAEL Be treated like this. Like, I-I-I don't matter. Like I'm invisible. KRISTINE Okay, so what's your plan? You're gonna leave and do what? You can barely make a living on your own, Michael. You can't survive without me. You can barely get out of bed. MICHAEL Oh wow. So, okay. Um, if that's how you feel, then Kris, why... why are you even with me? KRISTINE MICHAEL Yeah, you can't answer that 'cause the writing's been on the wall for a long time, hasn't it? MICHAEL Shit, Kris, I gotta go. U-Uh, the Circuit City crew's waiting for me. KRISTINE No, don't you dare hang-- MICHAEL Holy shit. MICHAEL Yeah, this is great. JENNIFER Michael Barnett. MICHAEL H-- Uh, hi stranger. Oh my gosh. JENNIFER Hi. Oh. MICHAEL JENNIFER Sorry. MICHAEL How long has it been? JENNIFER Um, years? Yeah, my-- uh, Wyatt is six. MICHAEL Six? Wow. JENNIFER Six. Yeah. MICHAEL I do not understand time. JENNIFER Are you okay? You seem unwell. MICHAEL Thank you. That is so nice of you to see that and say it, it's-- JENNIFER Okay, boss. Let's get some drinks, yeah? MICHAEL Yeah. JENNIFER We're gonna need some drinks. MICHAEL Yeah. JENNIFER JENNIFER Why? Why did you like the crutch? MICHAEL JENNIFER I mean, what is going on up there? MICHAEL In here? JENNIFER Yeah. MICHAEL It-- It's, uh, chaos and self-loathing. JENNIFER Oh! Oh, well, I got that too. MICHAEL You-- JENNIFER I do. MICHAEL Oh. I don't-- Look, I don't-- What was I supposed to do? You know, you get this picture and I'm like, "Okay. I want to confront her, but I didn't like really want to confront her." JENNIFER Yeah. MICHAEL You know, 'cause like... Ugh, this is so embarrassing. I think I really was hoping. I wanted the pictures like to maybe be for me, you know? So I was like, "Well, maybe they are. So maybe I shouldn't say anything." But then I realized, "Well, that doesn't matter 'cause the fact that, like, the fact that I'm already thinking that she's cheating on me." And so, it's that whole thing of like, if your wife is fucking around in a forest and no one's there to hear it. JENNIFER MICHAEL Sorry, I'm just... Sorry. JENNIFER I have a confession to make. MICHAEL What? JENNIFER Never really a big Kristine fan. MICHAEL Uh-- Uh, go on? JENNIFER When you talk about her, you're so sad. And y-your whole vibe is sad and small. And I don't know, like she... Remember how scared you were to tell her about the store closing? Like you were terrified. MICHAEL You were so nice to me. JENNIFER I-- MICHAEL I really wanted to-to tell you that. You were very nice to me. JENNIFER You know who's not nice? Kristine. MICHAEL JENNIFER She's kind of a bitch, right? MICHAEL She's-- JENNIFER I mean, isn't she? Sorry. MICHAEL It's okay. JENNIFER What? No. MICHAEL No, don't feel bad. JENNIFER No, that was too much. MICHAEL Not at all. JENNIFER Jennifer. MICHAEL Not at all. JENNIFER Plus, there's, um, you know, there's another reason why I'm primed not to like Kristine. But unless it's really over with her, I can't tell you. MICHAEL Um... Shit, it's-- Um, it's really over. JENNIFER I am sorry to hear about that. MICHAEL Oh, oh. JENNIFER MICHAEL MICHAEL Oh my gosh. JENNIFER Oh no. MICHAEL I'm kissing out of wedlock at Villa Tronco's. JENNIFER MICHAEL Who am I right now? Who am I? JENNIFER This is my favorite Michael. MICHAEL I like him too. JENNIFER He's great. MICHAEL He is. JENNIFER He's always so great. MICHAEL He's okay, right? He's so-- Oh shit. Shit. I have to write the statement for my-my lawyer 'cause of the-the court thing tomorrow. JENNIFER Yes. MICHAEL It's the whole reason I came down here. JENNIFER Yeah, go. MICHAEL I have to go. So, I'm gonna go. I have to. JENNIFER You could maybe just go in one minute? MICHAEL I have to. Yeah, I mean, I h-have to go right now. JENNIFER Sixty seconds. MICHAEL I gotta go, yeah. JENNIFER Okay. JENNIFER MICHAEL NATALIA "For people who don't know me, my name is Natalia Grace Barnett. I was born September 4th, 2003. And I am 13 years old. But for the past five years, I've had to lie about that and say I'm a grownup. That's been hard for me." CYNTHIA Oh! Well, you just about scared the pee right out of me. What you doing up? NATALIA Um, I'm working on my statement. I was maybe gonna add a joke 'cause Dad says you can always win over the congregation with a good laugh. CYNTHIA Ooh. Can I get a sneak peek? NATALIA Uh-huh. Um... "Being here today is kind of like being on a rollercoaster. It's scary and I feel like I'm gonna lose my lunch." CYNTHIA See? Now you're gonna do great. You just be yourself and let the people come to you. NATALIA I'm just worried about reading this stuff in front of Kristine and Michael. CYNTHIA No, stop that. First of all, you know they did this to themselves. Second, Detective Drysdale said those fools aren't even coming tomorrow. They're gonna have a lawyer speak on their behalf. NATALIA What if they change their minds? CYNTHIA Well, then you got a secret weapon, baby. Because if they show their faces, you got Mama C there ready to rip 'em one, okay? NATALIA CYNTHIA Come on, knock back that Nestle's and let's get you to bed. So you'll be ready to read that statement tomorrow. NATALIA When the Barnetts had my age changed, I wasn't there. I didn't get to speak for myself. So, they got to decide how people see me. ANTWON NATALIA They decided who I am. I'm excited to be here today to set the record straight so people can see me the way my siblings do, a regular 13 year old. ANTWON In Jesus' name we pray, amen. NATALIA And so, I can be adopted by a family that really loves me. CYNTHIA Ready? BAILIFF All rise! JUDGE FABER Well, while I've got everyone standing already, please raise your right hands to be sworn in. CYNTHIA Is this normal to do it all at once like this? DRYSDALE It's a probate hearing, not a trial. JUDGE FABER Do you solemnly swear under penalty of perjury any testimony you may give today is the truth? DRYSDALE Judge can do whatever he wants. It's not run like a regular court. ALL I do. NATALIA They didn't come. MR MABRY Uh, I'm Ken Mabry, counsel for Natalia Barnett. May it please the court if we first proceed by establishing a basis for our motion of which there are two motions? JUDGE FABER Yep. MR MABRY Well, uh, first is a motion to appoint Antwon and Cynthia Mans the legal guardians of Natalia Barnett. Uh, Natalia is a minor who was abandoned by Kristine and Michael Barnett. JUDGE FABER No, it says here Ms. Barnett is 27 years old. I know these millennials can't take care of themselves, but that doesn't make them all minors. KINNARD MR MABRY Well, so that brings me to our second motion to vacate the June, 2012 court order regarding Natalia's age. In a horrible miscarriage of due process, the Barnetts had Natalia's age changed from eight to 22 without her knowledge or even a hearing on the issue. JUDGE FABER On what basis was she re-aged? MR MABRY Your guess is as good as mine, Your Honor. The files have been sealed. Not even Natalia herself knows how or why she was re-aged. KINNARD Uh, Your Honor, there's no big mystery here. Uh, Ms. Barnett was re-aged because of the simple medical fact that she's not a child. CYNTHIA Not a child, my hiney. ANTWON Give the Lord his time. KINNARD The Marion County Superior Court reviewed the evidence and agreed. JUDGE FABER I'm not inclined to overturn another court's ruling without significant evidence the verdict should have been different. KINNARD To that end, your honor, I'd like to invite Dr. Stephen Lawrence, he analyzed Ms. Barnett's records during the original case, to speak. JUDGE FABER Great, I'd love to hear what he has to say. DRYSDALE You know this guy? NATALIA Y-Yeah, I think so. They took me to a lot of doctors. DR LAWRENCE Thank you. My name is Dr. Stephen Lawrence and I was the Barnett's family doctor and Natalia's primary physician while she was with them. Uh, during this time, it became apparent that Ms. Barnett was substantially older than she claimed. She didn't grow the way a young child would. NATALIA I'm pretty sure I only saw him once. DR LAWRENCE She displayed a number of secondary sex characteristics and by the time she was committed to, um, Larue's Psychiatric Hospital in 2012, she'd been having a regular menstrual cycle for years. CYNTHIA She still hasn't had her period. DR LAWRENCE Also, while at Larue, Ms. Barnett was diagnosed with sociopathy, uh, a diagnosis only given to adults. Ms. Barnett has made a career of, um, perpetuating an age facade. But despite being victims of her fraud, the Barnetts, uh, they see her as a sick individual and they remain committed to their roles as guardians. Thank you. JUDGE FABER Thank you, DR LAWRENCE. NATALIA Can I go now? Can I read mine? DRYSDALE Uh... MR MABRY Excuse me, your Honor. But we have opinions from several doctors who recently ran a battery of tests that prove, uh, Ms. Barnett's biological age to be in line with her original birth certificate. KINNARD Uh, Your Honor, DR LAWRENCE's opinion was based on analyzing Ms. Barnett's medical records at the time of her re-aging so I don't see how new records now that she's even older would even be relevant here. MR MABRY Well, but that's the due process stuff. The, um, the previous re-aging petition, it was very-- i-it only showed one side. Uh, Ms. Barnett wasn't included, which is why she'd like to speak today. NATALIA Hi. DR LAWRENCE MICHAEL KINNARD Hey, Mike. MICHAEL Hey. Is it okay? KINNARD MICHAEL Can I talk? KINNARD Who cares? MR MABRY KINNARD Just relax. Relax. MR MABRY Natalia is about to speak right now. KINNARD You look great. Do you want to? MICHAEL Do I just go? KINNARD Yeah, of course. This is Michael Barnett, Natalia's guardian. MR MABRY Excuse me, Natalia was about to speak. JUDGE FABER Well, no. I didn't say that. This is my courtroom. KINNARD Excellent, thank you. MICHAEL So, my lawyer told me I didn't actually need to be here today. I could just write a statement and be on my way. And that's exactly what the old Michael planned to do. But lately, I've been learning to speak up, to be my own man. It takes courage to find one's true self. That's why I'm here. Let me tell you, lately Kristine and I have not been on the same page. But on this, we agree. We intend to stay on as Natalia's legal guardians. Not just to save other families from falling victim, but to encourage what's best for her, a life of honesty. COURTROOM CROWD JUDGE FABER Thank you, Mr. Barnett. That's helpful context. I'd like to ask Natalia Barnett to please come forward. MALE ATTENDEE Good luck. CYNTHIA You got this, Tali-boo. FEMALE ATTENDEE You got this, Natalia. JUDGE FABER There's no need for the stand, Ms. Barnett. I've heard everything I need to hear. JUDGE FABER You are lucky to have parents who care about you, who wanna help you turn your life around. So in your best interest, I will not be adjusting your guardianship. COURTROOM CROWD JUDGE FABER And further, I will not be vacating the 2012 re-aging decision as I've seen nothing here today to indicate the outcome would've been different had you been part of that process. So tell me, do you have anything to say for yourself, Ms. Barnett? NATALIA For people who don't know me, my name is Natalia Barnett. I was born September 4th, 2003 and I am thir-- NATALIA I... have a joke about a rollercoaster. JUDGE FABER Okay, we'll take five till the next case. CYNTHIA It's okay. Hey, it's okay. We love you no matter what, Tali-boo. This does not change that okay? ANTWON Lord knows we need you, okay? DRYSDALE I'm so sorry. I've never seen anything like this. It's infuriating. But we can still appeal. We'll find a way, okay? NATALIA And what would we do? CYNTHIA Absolutely not. No appeal. DRYSDALE She didn't even get to speak. CYNTHIA I'm her mother! I said no! ANTWON Okay. Okay. Hands, hands, hands, hands. It's okay. Heavenly Father, we're coming to you because we are in need. We're asking for your guidance. DRYSDALE The story could have ended there. It was a blatant miscarriage of justice, and I was furious. But I tried to do what they asked, leave it alone. DRYSDALE Until a few years later we started fostering my daughter Mel. We'd been trying for so long. We wanted her so bad and I kept thinking back to Natalia. How if she was mine, what would I do? I'd want her to have what Mel has, to get to be a kid. So I went back to my files. My wife works nights, and Mel isn't so much for sleeping. So she moonlighted as my deputy while I tried to figure out if there was a crime I could put on the Barnetts. I knew Michael Barnett lied that day. He didn't come all the way down from Canada because he cared about Natalia. I mean, he wouldn't even look at her in that courtroom. How do you do that? Not acknowledge your own daughter. He'd come down there with an agenda to make sure her age didn't get changed back. But why? What was he hiding? I cross-referenced everything, trying to find it. And then in her discharge paperwork from Larue Psychiatric Hospital that I'd subpoenaed so long ago, I found something. So in the summer of 2019, I decided to pay the family doctor a visit, Stephen Lawrence. DR LAWRENCE I'm sorry I don't have extra to share. My Susie makes a mean marinara. DRYSDALE I bet. I just appreciate your time. I got stuck with a bunch of old cases I'm trying to close out. DR LAWRENCE Mm. DRYSDALE So you're close to the Barnetts. DR LAWRENCE Oh yeah, saw the whole family for years. They're such good people and it's criminal how much they've suffered. DRYSDALE And when did you first meet Natalia? DR LAWRENCE Hmm. '07, '08. You know, I thought she was a kid back then, four or five years old. DRYSDALE Well she moved in with the Barnetts in 2010. So maybe right around then. DR LAWRENCE Yeah, you know, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to travel back in time. DRYSDALE So if you thought she was as young as four or five, how did you get all the way to 22? That's a big jump. DR LAWRENCE Oh. Well no, I-I didn't have anything to do with that whole re-aging business. DRYSDALE Didn't you testify at the Marion County Court hearing a couple years ago? In your testimony you mentioned Larue Psychiatric Hospital. Specifically, that Natalia had a menstrual while there and was diagnosed with sociopathy? That's Natalia's discharge paperwork there. See there. She left with a clean bill of health. No psychiatric diagnosis. No follow up or medication needed. DR LAWRENCE You know, I do have patients that I have to see. So, I-I can't-- I can't answer-- DRYSDALE Now, what if I told you that Natalia still hasn't had a menstrual cycle or that she has bone scans that confirm that today, seven years after you said she was 22, she is still biologically a child? STEPHEN I'm sorry, wrong hatch. Look, I really only saw Natalia once. DRYSDALE I thought you testified that you were her primary physician the whole time she was with the Barnetts. DR LAWRENCE I'm a-- I'm a GP. I-I meant that I sent her to specialists. They're the ones who determined her age. DRYSDALE But you were the one who wrote a letter offering your medical opinion that she was 22, that she was perpetuating an age facade. DR LAWRENCE Look, Michael and Kristine reviewed the specialist reports with me, and I simply wrote it down on paper for them. These are good people. I was just trying to help. Excuse me, thank you. Do I have some sort of liability here? DRYSDALE I'm not sure yet, but I'm gonna need to know the names of those specialists you sent her to. DRYSDALE Now if it were me, would I have shared the names of a bunch of doctors who would completely undermine my story? No, but it takes all kinds. DR RUSSO Sure, she had a couple of adult incisors, but otherwise, it was all baby teeth, which would've made her somewhere between six and eight. DR YOUNG The mother was obsessed with Natalia's age. She kept repeating that Natalia was perpetuating an age facade. The test results were clear Natalia was a child. DR DUPONT As I told the parents, dwarfism can sometimes affect puberty. So having some pubic hair at seven would be completely plausible. But even still, her LH levels were pre-pubertal. DR PERKINS They said they had legal evidence she was an adult, whatever that means, and wanted to confirm it medically. So we ran a battery of tests, all of which conclusively determined she was a child. OFFICE CROWD DRYSDALE So you think they made it all up? DR PERKINS Oh, I'm sure of it because a week after we presented them with all this, they filed a court order to have her re-aged anyway. DRYSDALE They told you they're moving forward with the court order? DR PERKINS No, Natalia's GP is a doctor here. He's who referred the parents to me. His receptionist told me when she heard they were going through with the re-aging. Look, everybody who met this poor kid was worried about her. DRYSDALE So you're saying when they filed to have her re-aged, the parents knew Natalia was a child? DR PERKINS Oh, we were very explicit. And I wrote to DR LAWRENCE, the GP, personally, as soon as I heard they were disregarding our findings. DRYSDALE Wh-- You shared this with Lawrence? DR PERKINS Of course. And I sent him all this and wrote an emergency letter to Marion County Court for good measure. To think what might have happened to that girl if the receptionist hadn't told me? DRYSDALE Oh, you don't know, do you? Sh-She was re-aged. DR PERKINS Wait, what? DRYSDALE She's legally now an adult. They had her re-aged, moved around. DRYSDALE You should have seen her face. DRYSDALE But she left zero doubt. These people had proof that Natalia was a kid. They went out of their way to cover it up and get rid of her. You've got conspiracy at least. STARBUCK Maybe. But can you prove they knew she was a kid? DRYSDALE Everyone knew she was a kid. They made the whole thing up. STARBUCK Not according to the family doctor. DRYSDALE He was lying for them. STARBUCK I see that you're an invested, and it's a fascinating story, but I just don't have the resources to take on cases I don't know for sure I can win. DRYSDALE If everything I just told you, if all this doesn't make you think that you could win, what the hell would? STARBUCK Get the parents to admit they knew? DRYSDALE That's like saying in order to charge someone with murder, they gotta admit they murdered someone. STARBUCK This isn't murder. DRYSDALE It almost was! STARBUCK Did you interview the Barnetts? DRYSDALE No! They're in Canada now. You're not the only one without resources. STARBUCK Huh. Well, lucky for you, I do some homework before meetings. Dad's back in Indy. They're divorced and she did a number on his character. If I were him, I'd probably hold a grudge. MICHAEL My wife and kids are inside, so it's a little quieter out here. I hope this is okay. DRYSDALE Oh, perfect. MICHAEL Okay. MICHAEL I will tell you this, Natalia is about 80,000 times better off just being away from Kristine. DRYSDALE But your boys are still with her, huh? MICHAEL Yeah, that's the problem. And man, they won't even get on the phone with me 'cause Kristine told them that I beat her and-and-and-and that there's a warrant out for my arrest in Canada? And that's why I lost the custody 'cause she's spewing all that same BS in the courts. Everybody just believes her. It's-- DRYSDALE If you tell a story well enough, truth doesn't always matter. MICHAEL I guess so. DRYSDALE That's quite a lie to tell. Why do you think she does it? MICHAEL Well, she's totally pot kettling me. DRYSDALE How do you mean? MICHAEL Look, I-- DRYSDALE Listen, listen, if you got something on your ex that can really help with your custody troubles. MICHAEL Kristine beat Natalia pretty bad. It was so bad, uh, this one time that I-I took a video just in case she'd like-- DRYSDALE You have this on video? MICHAEL I mean, Kristine made me delete it. Man, it was rough. It's-- I'm not talking about open-handed slapping. Fists. Kristine was just wam, wam, bam, bam! And then she'd get tired and it was elbow time. Who? Who are you? Who? She was-- I-- It's like she thought she could beat the truth out of her. DRYSDALE And what truth was she trying to get? MICHAEL It was the age thing, man. It was always, always the age. She was obsessed. She, you know, convinced that Natalia was an adult and this was the time when doctors were already telling us she was probably eight or nine. DRYSDALE So, you folks knew she was a kid? I'm only asking. MICHAEL Look, man, I'm-- Hold-- DRYSDALE I'm only asking because if she was a kid, then your ex committed child abuse. You were trying to help Natalia. You even recorded the video. But if we can get Kristine on child abuse, no way any court here or in Canada is gonna let her hold onto your boys. So... MICHAEL Yes. Yes, we knew she was a kid. DRYSDALE That's great. MICHAEL Really? DRYSDALE That's great. We can really do something with that. MICHAEL Yeah? Okay, good. Hey man, thank you. Thank you. MICHAEL It was friggin' incredible. He gets it. What a monster she is. He's on my side. He's-- He's gonna help me get the boys back. JENNIFER He said that? MICHAEL Mm-hmm. JENNIFER Babe, that's huge! MICHAEL I know. And get this, he thinks he can get Kristine on child abuse. JENNIFER With your boys? MICHAEL No, with Natalia. JENNIFER But she was an adult. MICHAEL Well, according to Kristine. JENNIFER No, you told me she was an adult. MICHAEL Well, we never like knew knew. You know, I was just doing what Kristine said because she told me she would take away my boys. And look, that's exactly what she did. Wh-- Jen, why-- You're not listening to what I'm saying. This is good. JENNIFER No, it's not, Mike. If-- If you told the detective that you knew Natalia was a kid, then you're probably guilty, too. MICHAEL No! No, no! That detective was on my side. KRISTINE This is the story of our entire marriage. Mike makes a huge mess, and I have to come in and clean it up. ARRAIGNMENT JUDGE On these six charges of neglect and two of conspiracy to commit neglect, how do you plead? KRISTINE Not guilty. KRISTINE I mean, I knew he was mad about the custody stuff and he wanted to punish me. KRISTINE But for Pete's sake, what kind of moron admits to a crime he didn't commit? OFFICE CROWD DEIDRA I know, but get it all out now, girl, 'cause remember, for the sake of your boys, when we get in there, we're playing it nice. KRISTINE Okay. Well, trust me, I know how to play nice to get what I want. OFFICE CROWD KINNARD Hello Deidra. KRISTINE This is a confidential meeting, just for family. JENNIFER Mike and I are family. KRISTINE This whole case has me in a tizzy, I'm sorry. It's nice to see you, Jen. KINNARD Come. Please have a seat. Have a donut. DEIDRA Thank you for making the time, Terrance. So as I've been digging into this case, it feels real clear the Barnetts need to approach this as a united front. KINNARD The cases are separate. DEIDRA Absolutely. I'm not talking about the same strategy necessarily, but we both know anything one side says affects the case of the other. KRISTINE Deidra thinks that our case is win or lose based on how the public feels about us. And that folks just love a good American family. JENNIFER But you're not a family. You're divorced. DEIDRA Of course, but we don't have to advertise that. JENNIFER I'm-- I'm sorry. I-I understand how this plan benefits Kristine, but how on Earth does it help Mike to align himself with his abusive ex? KRISTINE Is that what you've been saying? MICHAEL Not exactly. JENNIFER KRISTINE Mike and I, of course, have a complicated relationship, but we know each other better than anyone, and we still message each other all the time. JENNIFER Oh really? KRISTINE We have children. JENNIFER Hmm. KRISTINE And I know I've hurt you by not letting you see the boys and you've hurt me by choosing Jen. But we have to put all that behind us now. If these charges hold, we could be gone for 75 years. Is that what we want? For our boys to be alone? We have to keep them safe. It's about the boys. MICHAEL Right. You're right. KINNARD Okay, good. Now that we've taken care of that, let's talk about what we're up against. We have the prosecution's discovery, and they have video recordings of Natalia telling her own wild version of events. Now we have a natural advantage because the public will look at her, and they will see a fascination. This will make them question her. So we need to make our own version louder, truer. DRYSDALE So what should happen to them? NATALIA I-I don't know exactly. I don't hate them, but what they did to me was wrong. People need to know what happened in that house... KRISTINE You can't make this kind of thing up. A con artist infiltrating your family. MICHAEL A dangerous con artist. I mean, she tried to kill Kristine. KRISTINE It would've been 2010. KRISTINE I didn't want to admit it at that time that my husband and I were struggling... MICHAEL It was 2014. We'd been in Canada almost a year... KRISTINE This was 2010. I had just discovered Natalia's hair. MICHAEL It was 2012. She stole my son's toy car and... KRISTINE 2012, she tried to pull me in and she poured bleach into my coffee. MICHAEL That must have been around 2012. MICHAEL Around 2011 or so. KRISTINE 2010. KRISTINE It was 2019. KRISTINE A monster. MICHAEL Killer. KRISTINE MICHAEL DR PHIL Thanks so much for being here. DR PHIL Now, you've stayed quiet these past few months, even with all the press circulating since the arrest of Kristine and Michael Barnett. What made you decide to speak up? NATALIA Well... they've been doing all the talking, so I figured it's my turn. DR PHIL Then Natalia, there's just one question on everybody's mind. Were you a 22-year-old scam artist or an eight-year-old child left for dead?