The story of a mother who secretly tormented her own child over an extended period is a harrowing one, yet her daughter, Lauryn Licari, shares why she continues to hold love for her.
Lauryn Licari, then 13, and her boyfriend, Owen McKenny, started getting numerous anonymous messages beginning in October 2020. The harassment paused briefly but resumed nearly a year later in September 2021. These messages were hurtful, targeting the teens’ relationship, Lauryn’s physical appearance, and even included threats of violence.
Kendra Licari, Lauryn’s mother, partnered with Owen’s mother and the authorities at Beal City to find the mysterious harasser. However, the discovery that Kendra was behind the messages shocked everyone involved.
This unsettling case is the focus of a new Netflix documentary titled Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.
The documentary narrates the series of events from when Lauryn and Owen began receiving the messages, through the investigation, to the revelation that it was Kendra sending the harmful texts.
In the documentary, Kendra claims she wasn’t responsible for the initial messages that suggested Owen would break up with Lauryn. She said she later sent messages to try to uncover the origin of the harassment.
“The messages stopped for a little bit, and then they picked back up. In my mind, I’m like, ‘How long do we let this go on? What do I do as a parent?'” she explained. “I really wanted to get to the bottom of who it was. And that’s when I started sending the text messages to Lauryn and Owen.”
Kendra’s strategy was to provoke the teens into discussing the messages with peers, hoping they might reveal the source.
“I started in the thoughts of needing some answers, and then I just kept going, it was a spiral, kind of a snowball effect, I don’t think I knew how to stop,” she confessed. “I was somebody different in those moments. I was in an awful place mentally. It was like I had a mask on or something, I didn’t even know who I was.”
She also disclosed: “As [Lauryn] started getting older, I had things that were suppressed come forward. A lot of it was previous trauma starting to resurface that I didn’t know how to handle. When I was 17, I was raped, and as my daughter was hitting those teenage years, I got scared.
“I wanted to try to control the outcome of her journey. I was afraid of letting her grow up. I was scared of what could happen to her.”
In the documentary, Lauryn, who resides with her father Shawn Licari, reflected on her feelings years after the ordeal.
“Being without that relationship is really hurting me. I think rebuilding our relationship will help both of us a lot. I love her more than anything,” Lauryn expressed.
She mentioned wanting to reunite with her mother ‘when the time is right’ and hopes Kendra is seeking the necessary help.
Kendra has previously shown remorse for her actions, admitting in the documentary that she feels ‘disappointed’ in herself for letting her family down.
She faced charges for two counts each of stalking a minor and plotting with another to commit a crime, resulting in a sentence of 19 months to five years in prison.
Kendra was released on parole in August of last year and remains under supervision.
Addressing her restricted contact with Lauryn, she shared: “It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve seen her. We both know that we’re with each other no matter what. I definitely think we can have a healthy relationship. I know we both hold that bond that we have close.”
Shawn and Kendra are now divorced. Shawn expressed his disbelief, saying: “I just can’t believe she would do something like that to her daughter that supposedly she loved dearly. Just makes me sick. She stabbed me in the heart — shot me in the heart — and threw it away.”