The rise in adolescent cyber bullying has run rampant over the last decade. But in the latest Netflix true-crime series Unknown Number: The Highschool Catfish it shows just how disturbing this is when it’s your own flesh and blood.
In a tale that shook Beal City and all of True-Crime social media alike, a troubling mystery unfolded beginning in early 2021. A teenage girl, Lauryn Lacari (then 13), began receiving relentless, vicious messages through text and social media along with her then-boyfriend, Owen.
Over months, the harassment escalated, anonymous messages mocked Lauryn’s appearance, relationship and self-worth. Text messages arrived in droves dozens of times a day. From the outset, authorities suspected fellow classmates but the truth would shock them all.
An investigation involving Beal City Schools. the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, and eventually the FBI revealed the unthinkable: the cyberbully was none other than Lauryn’s mother, Kendra Gail Licari. Using VPN’s, fake numbers, and software to mask her identity, she even helped lead the investigative efforts, all the while perpetrating the abuse.
Where Is Kendra Licari Now?
In April 2023 Kendra pled guilty to two counts of stalking a minor and received a sentence of 19 months to 5 years in prison.
Her story inspired a slew of debates online, with Reddit threads and TikTok ablaze with hot takes about her sentencing. After serving the lower end of her sentence, Kendra is currently on parole with conditions likely extending through August 2026. Now living in Pontiac, north of Detroit, reports indicate she has minimal contact with Lauryn.
In the Unknown Number documentary, Kendra shares that she wanted to participate, to “tell her story from her perspective“, and hoped Lauryn would see her doing that.
Director of the series, Skye Borgman describes Kendra as “remorseful“, aware her actions likely damaged her relationship with her daughter for the long haul.
Whether or how their relationship will rebuild remains uncertain at this point in time.
Where Is Lauryn Licari Today?
Now 18 years old, Lauryn has endured a harrowing transformation, processing deep betrayal and redefining her life path forward, In interviews for the documentary, her journey unfolds, initially longing for her mother, then gradually shifting toward cautious introspection and independence. Lauryn is figuring out what it means to take control of her emotions, her identity and her future.
Her relationship with her father, Shawn appears to have strengthened, offering her a source of stability amid all the chaos. She and Owen, her teenage boyfriend and fellow target of harassment are no longer in contact by the time of the documentary’s conclusion.
Why Did Kendra Do It?
The number one question from true-crime sleuths: What exactly drove Kendra to torment her own daughter? In court, she admitted to struggling with feelings of rejection and insecurity, and a need of control after her divorce. Prosecutors argued at the time that she projected her frustrations onto Lauryn.
Creating fake accounts and messages as a twisted form of keeping herself at the centre of her daughter’s world.
Psychologists interviewed in the series suggest Kendra’s behaviour aligned with patterns of obsessive control and emotional dependence, as well as an inability to separate her own identity from her child’s. While Kendra has since expressed remorse, her actions revealed deep issues with boundaries, mental health and self esteem that turned devastatingly destructive.
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