Netflix’s ‘Unknown Number’ Reveals New Details in Shocking Kendra Licari Cyberbullying Case

A Mother’s Betrayal Documented

On August 29, 2025, Netflix released ‘Unknown Number: The High School Catfish,’ a documentary that made bombshell revelations about the infamous 2022 Kendra Licari case.

The disturbing story began in 2020 when Lauryn Licari and her boyfriend Owen McKenny, who attended a small high school in Beal City, Michigan, started receiving harassing text messages from an unknown caller. The teenage couple was cyberbullied for nearly two years, with up to 40-50 aggressive and menacing texts being sent each day.

The Investigation and Revelation

Local police initially investigated their fellow schoolmates after being contacted by the parents. When the FBI got involved, they made a shocking discovery – the cyberbully wasn’t a teenager at all. The perpetrator behind the nonstop harassment was Lauryn’s own mother, Kendra Licari.

Legal Consequences and Current Status

Kendra Licari was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, with a minimum sentence of one year and seven months. She was released on parole on August 8, 2024, and will be supervised as a parolee until February 2026.

Mother-Daughter Relationship Today

Currently, Kendra no longer has contact with Lauryn, and she is legally obligated to maintain a distance from her daughter, who now lives with her father. Lauryn has expressed that she wants to see her mother ‘when the time is right,’ though she admits she’s unsure about trusting her again. Her primary wish is for her mother to get the help she needs to ensure their future interactions don’t revert to old patterns.

Impact and Significance

The Kendra Licari case represents a significant intersection of digital forensics, psychology, and criminal law. It stands as a powerful example of emotional abuse carried out with surgical precision using modern tools, demonstrating how technology can be twisted into a weapon of manipulation, even by those we trust most.