gitana1
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I think another pertinent issue is whether the Barnetts believed N was older based on medical tests. I think it's a "which came first?" scenario. Surely a doctor would have explained to the Barnetts that the first signs of puberty *can* start as young as six in some girls. Surely that would alleviate their confusion over physical body changes. If that didn't, then the bone scans that estimated N's age very closely to that on the birth certificate should have been quite convincing? And then there are the baby teeth falling out and being replaced by permanent teeth at an age that fits with the birth certificate better than the modified age.
So, was it doctors convincing the Barnetts, or was it the Barnetts convincing doctors. Did the Barnetts tell the psychology doctors that N is a six-year old child (or whatever age she was when she had those evaluations), and did the psych doctors become the first to say, "our evaluation isn't consistent with the age on the birth certificate--the certificate must be wrong".
Or was it a dentist who could see as well as the photo progressions show that this was a child losing their baby teeth and growing permanent teeth who suggested that this wasn't consistent with the age on the birth certificate?
Which came first? A doctor declaring that med tests strongly suggested an older actual age, or the Barnetts claiming that N wasn't the age on the birth certificate?
I'm thinking that if the prosecutor goes through all these things in chronological order, that there might not be a clear sign that the 'belief' came after the medical tests or that it was a reasonable belief derived from medical tests. Or did the Barnetts want this child off their hands without any negative stigma attached to them that they had 'failed' in this adoption. And at what point does Kristine start writing books proclaiming herself to be better than experts at solving problems that children might have? Was the age change what they truly believed, or was it more of a convenience for them, and somehow they got it done without sufficient medical evidence?
They had an assessment the very year they got her, in 2010. Then two years later. I think KB simply could not attach to her and was repulsed by her precocious puberty. So she created a narcissistic little fantasy that would enable her to get rid of the child, while looking like the victim rather than like a failure. Because remember, she's a hero who can achieve the impossible with the most seriously disabled kids. She needed an out. And she kept trying until she got someone to say what she wanted to believe and claim.
It was delusion. But after two doctors assessed her age she cannot claim ignorance. She carefully omitted mention of those assessments in her emergency petition. That shows me she is calculating and had full intent to deceive.
ETA: It is clear to me that KB convinced the family doctor and the LSCW. Not at all the other way around.