Did the Mans Family Try to ‘Brainwash’ Natalia Grace—Or Did They Try to ‘Blackmail’ Her: Legal Expert (Exclusive Preview)

More of Natalia Grace’s life with the DePaul family after escaping the home where she lived with her parents, Cynthia and Antwon Mans, is shown in the upcoming episodes of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter.

In an exclusive clip of the third episode premiering Jan. 7 on Investigation Discovery, legal expert Beth Karas explains the theory that the Manses may be trying to blackmail Natalia, 21, with the messages she exchanged with her online boyfriend Neil. (Watch it below.)

Karas takes viewers back to a phone call to producers from 2023 in which the Manses claimed they grew to mistrust Natalia and accused her of having “done other things.” 

While exactly what her parents were talking about is unclear, viewers later learn the Manses weren’t happy that Natalia was communicating, without their knowledge, with a man named Neil who she met on Facebook — and considered moving to the U.K. to be with him.

In a previous episode, the Manses and Natalia talked about their conflict and how it was seemingly resolved: Cynthia and Natalia claimed the secret messages between Natalia and Neil were deleted from Natalia’s Facebook account.

But in episode 3, ‘The Hell Loop,’ Karas suggests that may not be the case: The Manses may have secretly kept the private communications to use against their daughter if she publicly claimed she was being mistreated by her parents.

As Nicole DePaul, the friend whose family Natalia is now living with in upstate New York, speculates in an upcoming episode, “So Im starting to realize that Natalia is not being brainwashed by Cynthia and Antwone. She’s being blackmailed by them. Natalia is lying on camera because they have dirt on her.”

Since dramatically escaping from her home with the Manses in Tennessee and moving to upstate New York to live with the DePaul family, Natalia has shared different accounts of her time with the Manses.  

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

When allegations that Cynthia and Antwon were physically abusive to their children surfaced, she has declined to discuss it with producers. In the final two episodes airing tonight, ‘The Hell Loop’ and ‘Breaking the Chains,’ viewers can expect to see what Natalia has to say about her parents in conversations with others.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter concludes tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery and streams on Max.