Neglect charges based on Natalia Grace Barnett's age dismissed against mom accused of abandoning her in Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ukrainian orphan Natalia Grace Barnett is an adult in the eyes of the law, so any pending charges of neglect against her adoptive mother, Kristine Barnett, cannot be based on the daughter's age, according to a Tippecanoe County judge's ruling Friday.

Natalia Barnett, who has severe dwarfism, was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett in 2010, when they believed she was about 8.

In a case that has drawn international attention, Tippecanoe County prosecutors charged the Barnetts in September 2019 with abandoning Natalia in Lafayette in July 2013.

In December 2019, prosecutors filed more serious felony charges of neglect for not getting Natalia needed medical treatment because of her dwarfism.

More:Michael Barnett's trial date in the Natalia Grace neglect case now pending legal questions

Friday's ruling in Kristine Barnett's case finds that any charges of neglect alleging that Natalia was a minor will be dismissed.

Michael Barnett's attorney had not yet filed a motion to dismiss with the same arguments made in Friday's ruling, according to online court records.

In cases against Michael Barnett and Kristine Barnett, prosecutors alleged that after setting up Natalia in an apartment on North 11th Street in Lafayette, the Barnetts moved to Canada with their biological sons so their oldest, a 15-year-old child prodigy at that time, could begin college.

Prosecutors claim in neglect of a dependent charges filed last year that Natalia was not quite 10 when the Barnetts moved her 55 miles from their home in Westfield, in Hamilton County, to Lafayette.

The couple, who divorced in 2014, have claimed in their defense that shortly after they adopted Natalia, they began to believe she was an adult, so they changed her birth records on June 22, 2012, making her 22 years old in the eyes of the law.

During interviews since then, Kristine Barnett, who is the author of a book titled "The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing, Genius and Autism," and Michael Barnett said they were scammed and that Natalia had pubic hair and menstrual cycles when they adopted her at the presumed age of 8.

They also accused Natalia of trying to harm Kristine and their two sons.

More: 'It's not true at all.' Michael, Kristine Barnett's daughter disputes parents' account on Dr. Phil

More: Michael and Kristine Barnett face more charges of neglecting daughter, Natalia

Since they believed her to be an adult, they petitioned a Marion County court to change Natalia's birth record.

Some of the neglect charges against the Barnetts allege that Natalia was a minor, based on her age from her Ukrainian records, which had a 2003 birth year.

In the eyes of the law, though, Tippecanoe Superior 2 Judge Steve Meyer ruled Friday that, in Kristine Barnett's motion to dismiss, Natalia's birthday established by a Marion Superior Court settled the issue.

The ruling does not apply to Michael Barnett, because he's not filed a motion similar to Kristine Barnett's.

Meyer ruled that Tippecanoe Superior Court does not have the authority to change or undo a superior court ruling from another county.

Furthermore, Meyer noted that several steps along the way of bringing charges against the Barnetts, agents of the state had opportunity to challenge the Marion Superior Court decision about Natalia's age and failed to appeal it.

The Journal & Courier left messages for comment from Michael Barnett's attorney, Terrance Kinnard, and Kristine Barnett's attorneys, Deidra Haynes and Mark Nicholson. They had not immediately responded, as of Saturday afternoon.

Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington also did not immediately return the J&C's calls asking for comment.

As media pressure built in the case, Meyer previously issued a gag order that applies to the attorneys, prosecutors, the Barnetts and Natalia.

When addressed in 2017 by the same Marion County court that changed Natalia's birthday, the court reaffirmed that its earlier order that assigned Natalia's birth year as 1989, according to the facts cited by Meyer in his ruling.

Therefore, any of the state's charges that rely on Natalia's age as a legal fact for the allegations of neglect of a dependent must be dismissed, Meyer ruled.

"The record supports a conclusion that the state has had its fair share of 'bites at the apple' as to the validity of the Marion County order finding Natalia to be an adult," Meyer wrote in his order.

According to the ruling, it would not be fair in the Barnetts' case to allow prosecutors to say that Natalia was a minor when her parents brought her to Lafayette in 2013 since a court has already ruled she's now nearly 31.

"(A)s a matter of law, she is an adult," Meyer wrote.

Natalia appeared on the "Dr. Phil" show on Nov. 7 and asserted that she was born in 2003 and had just turned 16 a few months before the show aired.

More: Natalia Grace tells what it was like being Michael and Kristine Barnetts' adopted daughter

Attorneys who tried to get Natalia's original birthday year reinstated in 2017 also told the Journal & Courier in 2019 that they believe her to be a teenager.

In Friday's ruling, three neglect charges were dismissed because they were outside of the statute of limitations, and Meyer found that the Barnetts did not conceal their crimes by changing Natalia's age or moving her to a city and county where she knew no one before moving to Canada.

As for the charges the other charges, Meyer ruled that Natalia is not a minor dependent.

"Counts 1 through 6 should be dismissed to the extent they rest upon the allegation Natalia was a dependent because of her age since. ... Natalia has been determined to be an adult during all times alleged.

"However, the state may proceed with the counts on the theory Natalia was a dependent because of a physical disability," Meyer wrote in his conclusion of the order.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Neglect charges based on Natalia Grace Barnett's age dismissed against mom accused of abandoning her in Lafayette