Horrifying true story behind movie Orphan that saw 33-year-old woman pose as 13-year-old to infiltrate family

The idea of a 33-year-old woman successfully posing as a 13-year-old might be a little hard to believe. But in the case of Czech woman Barbora Skrlova, it was very much a reality.

Following similarities with the controversial Natalia Grace story - the adult woman was accused of posing as a six-year-old girl - it seems Skrlova's was a little more harrowing.

Not only did she impersonate an orphan, Skrlova took over her first adoptive family in Czech Republic, convinced the mum and sister to chain and starve their sons/nephews, and ran away from the police when she was caught.

2009 film Orphan was loosely based on this story:

The premise for the psychological horror film sees a grieving couple adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther.

As she integrates into the family, they are unaware that Esther is actually a 33-year-old with a rare disorder that stunts her growth.

After her true identity is unveiled, a deadly confrontation with the family takes place.

Orphan stars the likes of Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder and Jimmy Bennett.

It seems the movie was partly based on real-life events from 2007, when Skrlova happened to be part of a wider child abuse case in the Czech Republic.

Barbora Skrlova posed as an orphan in a child abuse case. (CTK)

Back then, police raided a house in Brno to find an eight-year-old boy, two adult women and the 33-year-old woman, who they thought was a 13-year-old girl, named Anicka.

The eight-year-old was found chained in the cellar of his home by his own mum, Klara Mauerova.

When the mother appeared in court in 2008, she claimed she was manipulated into abusing her son and his 10-year-old brother by her sister Katerina and Skrlova, who created a cult called the Grail Movement.

To avoid questioning from police, Skrlova fled and relocated to Norway, posing as a 13-year-old boy named Adam in a children's home, pretending to be a victim of child abuse.

Police described her as being 5ft 2 with her breasts bound and head shaved.

Skrlova fled to avoid police questioning. (CTK)

“It turned out that the so-called missing teenager was a 33-year-old woman,” Norwegian police said as they launched a world-wide search.

“Not even we have been able to figure out what is up and down in this case.”

Looking back, the principal at Marienlyst school in Oslo, where Skrlova was a student, did wonder abut 'Adam’s behaviour'.

“But this is not easy to know. Children at this age are very different, and can be masculine or feminine," Ingjerd Eriksen told Dagbladet.

Police eventually found her. (CTK)

On 16 December, 'Adam' disappeared from the home and was found and arrested on 5 January.

DNA tests confirmed that 'the boy' was, in fact, Skrlova, and she was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison in 2008.

Skrlova was released in 2011 when lawyers successfully argued that her psychological well-being was deteriorated.

Her current whereabouts are unknown.