On August 29, Netflix released ‘Unknown Number: The High School Catfish’, a new documentary that highlights the dangers of cyberbullying. This documentary details the online harassment two teens had to face before discovering the unexpected culprit behind the screen.
In October of 2020 in Beal City, Michigan, Lauryn Licari and her then boyfriend/high-school classmate Owen McKenney began receiving intimidating and aggressive text messages from an anonymous source. 13-year-old Lauryn and boyfriend Owen were described as the “golden couple” at the time, having been together since junior high, in what seemed to be a happy, healthy relationship. The Licari and McKenney families became close, as they would spend time together frequently during the Coronavirus lockdowns. The documentary includes interviews with Lauryn, Owen, their parents, the school principal, classmates, parents, and law enforcement.
At first, the messages were discouraging the relationship between Lauryn and Owen, with texts like, “Hi Lauryn, Owen is breaking up with you”. The couple ignored these messages in hopes the sender would simply stop on their own and didn’t end up hearing anything for a while. However, a year later the texts returned, but this time they got progressively worse, with messages flooding in as much as 50 times a day. The cyberbully started making disturbing sexual remarks about Owen and personal insults toward Lauryn, even going as far as telling her to end her own life on multiple occasions. Over time, it became clear that the stalker was someone that Lauryn had to know personally, as they would include specific insults about her outfit or appearance, and even called her by her nickname, “Lo”.
Lauryn and Owen tried to block the number, but each time they would block one, the texts would start coming in from a different number. When it became apparent that this harassment was not going to stop, the Licari and McKenney families sought help from the school, who then contacted state police to get involved. The police questioned people close to Lauryn and Owen, with nobody showing signs of being the stalker. Rumors and speculation about who could be behind the texts began to spread around the school. Some girls that had faced prior accusations of bullying were initially suspected; however, they were cleared after no evidence was found on a scan of their phones.
Even after Lauryn and Owen had enough and decided to give the bully what they wanted by breaking up, the relentless texts continued. The sexual fixation on Owen was constant even when the two were no longer together. Owen even reported that he had to part ways with a new girlfriend because the stalker had started texting harassing messages to the girl’s mother.
Eventually, state police brought in the FBI cybercrime unit for assistance. The FBI was able to track the IP address on multiple of the phone numbers that the texts had come in from. Each time, the address that came up belonged to Kendra Licari, Lauryn’s mother. When police arrived at the home of Kendra Licari, she admitted to being the sender of the texts without much questioning. The bodycam footage of this interaction is strange to say the least. The police officer handling the situation let Lauryn’s mother (and abuser) smother her in affection while he beat around the bush in explaining to Lauryn that her mom had been the one behind the texts this entire time. Lauryn’s father, Shawn, is the only one who seemed to grasp the magnitude of the situation at the time, telling Kendra to leave in extreme anger.
In December 2022, Kendra Licari was arrested, and in April 2023 she was sentenced to 19 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of stalking a minor. She was released on parole in August 2024 with orders to not contact her daughter. Shawn Licari was granted full custody of Lauryn after his divorce from Kendra.
The documentary also shares Kendra’s perspective, giving the viewer insight into her perverse justifications for her actions. This incident serves as a reminder to exercise caution on social media, as online bullying can take a serious toll on one’s mental health, and the face behind the bullying could be anyone.