Mans Family Accused of Abusing Natalia Grace in 'The Final Chapter': 'They're Saying My Husband Slept With His Daughter'

Viewers of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter were left on the edge of their seats on Monday night, Jan 6, as Natalia's shocking saga took another dramatic turn.

Episode 2, 'The Rescue,' opens with grainy, nighttime footage of Natalia arriving at her family's Nashville church for a midnight service just days before Christmas of 2023, then hopping in the van driven by her old friend, Nicole DePaul, and Nicole's daughter, Mackenzie, who drive her toward their home in upstate New York—and away from the adoptive parents, Antwon and Cynthia Mans, whom Nicole accuses of abusing Natalia and taking money due to her. (Meanwhile, Natalia steadfastly refuses to take part in those accusations.)

"You're okay. You're okay. You're okay. You're okay," Nicole tells Natalia, who trembles and cries as they drive away from the church in Nashville. Natalia recovers her composure, but worries about her parents.

"My mom does not know at all right now. I'm freaking out," Natalia says. "Oh my God, I'm hyperventilating right now. My dad is gonna snap! My mom is probably having a panic attack right now. I don't want to break her heart."

Related: Natalia Grace Speaks Out in Rare Interview — and Defends Herself Against Allegations of Violence: ‘I'm Not a Liar' (Exclusive)

Then Cynthia texts Natalia to ask where she is, and keeps texting and calling over and over again as the night wears on. "Oh my god, Cynthia will not stop calling!" says Nicole. "I'm worried. I don't know what Cynthia and Antwon are capable of. What if they get angry and come after us?"

It's the beginning of Natalia's new life with the DePauls, a family of little people who know how to support her in her dreams of becoming an independent adult. "She's been having a blast having freedom," says Nicole after the daring getaway plan successfully lands Natalia in upstate New York, where she is given a tour of their home built for people with dwarfism. She is free to communicate with her U.K.-based boyfriend Neil on Facebook and, eventually, makes plans to meet him in person.

But tensions arise over finances. In one of their first conversations after the rescue, Natalia assures Cynthia that she will remain Natalia's "payee" and collect her monthly Social Security benefits of nearly $800.

A couple of days later, Nicole decides to give Natalia some cash for Christmas. "She told me she had Cash App," says Nicole. "Natalia said it's her account. So I sent $100 to this account. But then I realized the account she gave me was for Cynthia Mans."

"Cynthia and Antwon — they steal from Natalia. And now I feel like they're stealing from me. They have her money going into their bank account. They won't give her an ID to get her own bank account... All of it does not add up. I feel like it's a slap in the face. I don't understand why Natalia would give away her money to people she just literally had to flee from. So now are we expected to pay for everything? Am I an ATM? I don't get it."

But Natalia refuses to criticize her parents. "Being honest, we went through a rough moment, you know, as a family. But being honest, it brought us closer together more. Like, our relationship is great. I love my family, I love God. And that's why I look up to my dad a lot. My dad has definitely been used in the gift of prophecy by God."

When a producer asks off-camera why her parents recently said that she was "the enemy," Natalia pauses and slumps over on her seat. "If I answer that, it's going to start a lot of drama."

Related: Inside Natalia Grace's New Life with Family of Little People in New York: 'It Is Definitely a Blessing to Be Alive' (Exclusive)

"I definitely feel like she's very afraid of that family," says Nicole. "What happened in that house?" she asks.

While Natalia refuses to answer the question, other outside observers who speak out in episode 2—but who, like Nicole, don't have first-hand knowledge, have no such reluctance.

Robert Madewell, the father of a child whom Cynthia Mans once babysat in Indiana, makes startling claims. The Manses are "not the same people behind closed doors. They're monsters," he claims.

Madewell—who according to records obtained by People is a convicted felon and registered violent sex offender—says the couple cared for his son from 2019 to 2022 in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

At first, he says on the The Final Chapter, they appeared to be the typical religious family—but it didn't take long, he says, for him to conclude that they had a darker side. He accuses them of cursing, drinking—and even being part of a "cult."

"They're fraudsters," Madewell opines on camera. "They adopt and get kids for money. It's all about money, what they can get. She asked if I could sign guardianship [of my son] over to her. [Cynthia] filled everything out and wanted me to go to the bank to get it notarized. I would never do that."

(Multiple attempts by People to reach the Manses and their attorney for comment went unanswered.)

Madewell goes on to accuse the Manses of having abused his child, who appears on camera with his identity concealed. The boy, now 7, tells producers that he was 3 or 4 when the Manses babysat him.

"When I tried to go to the bathroom, since Miss Cynthia would tell me no, I peed on myself," he says on camera. "I did not like by them. It made me feel scared. She hit me on the bottom—they were violent. She had a belt she would whoop us with." The boy also claims that at that young age he saw Cynthia slap Natalia in the face.

"The Mans are supposed to be this God-fearing people that love kids," asserts Madewell, but "there is definitely abuse and control there." As an example, he claims that he once witnessed Cynthia grabbing one of her sons by the arm and slapping him in the face.

A former neighbor named Ed Ramey also appears in 'The Rescue' and claims he, too, suspected physical abuse in the household. "I don't think they're good parents," he says.

On camera, Cynthia Mans denies the allegations: "You know, with all these sick, twisted lies — that Natalia was hitting on our kids; she was beating on our kids, and we was allowing it; that we were all doing drugs; saying that my husband is sleeping with his daughter. It's so frustrating that people will just say anything to appease their agenda. It's ridiculous."

Anna Newlin, who once lived with the Mans family, defends the Mans family on camera, but then suggests to producers of the show that Natalia was struck with a belt and kicked down a flight of stairs by the Manses. "There's some things that can land [Cynthia] and Antwon in jail for a long time," she says in a voiceover.

Newlin's ex-husband Matt, who also lived with the Manses, then claims on camera that he saw Antwon "brutally batter Natalia with a belt" in the basement of their church. "It was just out of aggression. Natalia was shaking, tears were rolling down her face," he says. On another occasion, Matthew claims, Cynthia locked Natalia in a bathroom and assaulted her.

“I kept telling [Natalia] every day, ‘You need to get the hell up out of there,” Matt says, while crying. “You need to go before you get killed!” 

At the conclusion of episode 2, when asked if she or any of the other kids was ever beaten by Cynthia or Antwon, Natalia says bluntly, "I do not want to talk about that."

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter premieres Part 2 on January 7 on Investigation Discovery and streams on Max from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

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