Indiana Parents charged with Abandoning Adopted Daughter, but they Claim she was Really a 22-Year Old Sociopath

Kristine and Michael Barnett

The headline is the story, because there is no way to abbreviate the lede: two adoptive parents have been arrested and charged with abandoning their adopted daughter, but they claim she had lied about her age, was really an adult, and had even tried to harm them when she was living with them. If it sounds like something out of a movie, you would be right, because it’s basically the plot of the 2009 film ‘Orphan’.

It’s undisputed that the couple, Michael and Kristine Barnett, adopted the girl, and that she has a growth disorder that maintains her small stature. However, the parents claim that her maturity and subsequent tests later showed that she was much older. They ultimately went to court and had her birth certificate corrected from 2003 to 1989, changing her age from eight to 22. Apparently, the decision was later challenged and upheld by the court. She was then legally an adult, and they helped her get on public assistance and helped her rent a place to live. Police affidavits claim Michael admitted that he knew the girl really was a child, that tests had proven in, and that Kristine had told the girl to tell others she was 22. Michael’s attorney denies the claims in the affidavit. The Barnetts, who are now divorced, are both charged with neglect of a dependent for when they moved to Canada in 2013.

Also, while living at the Barnett home, the possible child allegedly attacked a baby, and trying to poison and electrocute them. It really is the movie ‘Orphan’. Read the whole crazy story at DailyMail.com.