Kendra Licari Case Spotlighted in New Netflix Documentary as Mother-Daughter Story Unfolds

A Shocking Case Revisited

The small community of Beal City, Michigan was rocked by a cyberbullying case that began in October 2020, when 13-year-old Lauryn Licari and her then-boyfriend Owen began receiving suspicious texts from an unknown number. After a pause, the messages resumed in September 2021, evolving into a daily barrage of threats and vile insults over the next 15 months.

The messages contained information that only someone close to Lauryn could have known, leading concerned parents and school officials to involve law enforcement. While initial investigations focused on classmates and friends, it wasn’t until Bradley Peter, a police officer from nearby Bay City, stepped in as liaison to the FBI that the masked messages were traced to an unexpected source – Lauryn’s mother, Kendra Licari.

Legal Consequences and Current Status

In April 2023, Kendra Licari was sentenced to a minimum of 19 months in prison with a maximum of five years after pleading guilty to two counts of stalking a minor. She was released on parole on August 8, 2024, and will be supervised as a parolee until February 2026. Currently living in Michigan, she is not allowed to see her daughter as per her plea deal.

Netflix Documentary Reveals New Perspectives

The case has gained renewed attention through Netflix’s documentary “Unknown Number: The High School Catfish,” released on August 29, 2025. In the documentary, Kendra revealed that she was sexually assaulted at age 17, and claimed her cyberbullying campaign was a twisted attempt to keep her daughter safe. “As my daughter was hitting those teenage years, I got scared,” she said, with the documentary suggesting this was less about protecting Lauryn from her boyfriend and more about reinforcing closeness by keeping Lauryn scared and dependent.

The Path to Healing

Lauryn Licari has expressed that she wants to see her mother “when the time is right,” though she currently struggles with trust. “Now that she’s out, I just want her to get the help she needs so then when we see each other, it doesn’t go back to the old ways and how it was before,” Lauryn stated in the documentary. The case stands as a powerful intersection of digital forensics, psychology, and criminal law, demonstrating how technology can be twisted into a weapon of manipulation and how even the most trusted relationships can be compromised behind a screen.