A father has opened up about the shocking revelation that his wife was secretly bullying and harassing their daughter under the guise of anonymity.
In October 2020, 13-year-old Lauryn Licari and her then-boyfriend, Owen McKenny, started receiving a slew of anonymous messages. These harassing texts stopped temporarily but resumed in September 2021.
Lauryn’s mother, Kendra Licari, initially collaborated with Owen’s mother, school officials, and law enforcement in Beal City in an effort to identify the sender of the anonymous messages. However, it was later uncovered that Kendra was behind the harassment all along.
The story is detailed in the new Netflix documentary, “Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.”
The documentary explores the police investigation that led to the truth, revealing the disturbing messages sent to Lauryn and Owen, which included insults like “He thinks you’re ugly” and “You’re worthless.”
Alarmingly, some messages contained sexually explicit content, expressing desires to “bang” Owen and telling Lauryn that Owen did not want her.
The documentary also captures the moment when Lauryn’s father, Shawn Licari, learned the truth.
He recounted: “I get this crazy phone call at work, and it’s the sheriff saying that they figured it out. I’m like, ‘sweet, finally this is gonna be over with’.”
The sheriff then broke the news to him, saying, “He’s like, ‘I’m sorry, I gotta’ tell you this… unfortunately it’s your wife’.”
Shawn was left speechless by the revelation and hurried home, where he was met by the sheriff.
In body cam footage, the sheriff explained: “This is the deal, every time the kids received a message, her number came back.”
The sheriff detailed that the evidence was sufficient for a search warrant, leading to the confiscation of Kendra’s phone and computer.
Shawn asked which phone was taken, as Kendra owned multiple devices. The sheriff replied: “I have a search warrant for all of them, so I’d like to get all of them,” adding that Kendra was charged with felony stalking.
Shawn was informed that Kendra had lost both of her jobs, although he believed she had resigned.
In the documentary, the sheriff described Shawn as appearing “like a broken person” as he processed the information.
Shawn then entered the house where Kendra and Lauryn were seated. He questioned Kendra about the job losses and called her parents to come pick her up.
“We’ve got to be separated for a little while,” said Shawn, visibly shaken by the news.
Kendra, in the documentary, insisted she did not send the initial messages but claimed she sent subsequent ones to uncover the perpetrator.
She explained: “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?'”
Kendra hoped the messages would lead the teens to discuss them with friends, potentially uncovering the source. She admitted, “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.”
Expressing regret for her actions, Kendra acknowledged feeling “very disappointed” in herself for letting down her family.
Lauryn now resides with Shawn, who has full custody.
“Unknown Number: The High School Catfish” is available to stream on Netflix.