When his daughter began receiving vile text messages from an anonymous bully, Shawn Licari thought the texter would be a classmate, an enemy or even a stranger.
He never suspected his own wife would be the one tormenting his teenage daughter Lauryn and her now ex-boyfriend.
In front of the family, Shawn’s wife Kendra Licari expressed heartbreak over her daughter being bullied and even kept in touch with investigators for updates. But behind their back, the mother was using multiple devices and her IT background to bombard her daughter with intimidating texts.
Shawn Licari never suspected his own wife would be the one tormenting their teenage daughter Lauryn with vile text messages
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some
The harrowing family tale unfolded when Lauryn began dating Owen McKenny in school. They connected in the 7th grade and bonded over sports and other shared interests.
After dating for a few months, the former high school sweethearts began receiving text messages from unknown numbers.
“It seemed like the text messages were trying to make me and Owen break up,” Lauryn said in the new Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Over time, the mysterious texter grew more and more hostile and began shaming Lauryn for her appearance.
“Owen loves me, and I will always be the girl he loves. He will be with me while your lonely, ugly a** is alone,” read one of the initial texts.
Matters became worse when Lauryn and Owen decided to end their relationship.
“We won,” the texter said after the breakup and continued to send harsh messages like “he thinks you’re ugly” and “he thinks you’re trash.”
The texts began encouraging thoughts of self-harm as well, saying: “Jump off a bridge,” “his life would be better if you were d**d,” and “Finish yourself or we will #bang.”
“He thinks you’re trash,” Kendra wrote to her daughter under the guise of the mysterious texter
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Parents Shawn and Lauryn cooperated with local investigators to find the perpetrator. Eventually, the FBI got involved.
The real twist came when Shawn received an unexpected phone call in 2022 while at work.
“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 father recalled in the documentary.
“He’s like, ‘I’m sorry, I gotta’ tell you this… unfortunately it’s your wife,’” he continued.
Shawn said he found out it was his wife all along when he received a phone call while at work
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Stunned by the revelation, Shawn rushed back home to his wife and daughter.
He found the Isabella County Sheriff Mike Main standing on his front porch and was told how Kendra became the prime suspect in the case.
“This is the deal, every time the kids received a message, her number came back,” the sheriff explained to the father. “So that was enough for a search warrant, and that’s why we’re here today.”
Shawn was told that they had a search warrant for all of Kendra’s devices and would be taking her laptop as well as multiple phones.
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
The father eventually discovered that his wife had been let go from both her jobs and had been spending her time sending the graphic text messages to their daughter.
“Shawn looked like a broken person, he just… he was trying to process what I had just told him,” the sheriff said in the documentary.
“There was a lot more to unpack than just what was going on with Lauryn,” he added.
“Shawn looked like a broken person,,” the sheriff recalled
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
When Shawn went inside the house, he was captured briefly speaking to Kendra in the bodycam footage. He eventually phoned her parents to take his wife to their home.
“We’ve got to be separated for a little while,” said the father, still in disbelief over learning what his wife had done.
The accused mother pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a minor and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison.
Shawn divorced Kendra and got custody of their daughter, who is now 18 years old.
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Kendra was released in August last year and is currently not allowed to see Lauryn.
In the documentary, Kendra said her own childhood trauma may have fueled her actions.
“When I was 17, I was r***d and as my daughter was hitting those teenage years I got scared, very scared,” Kendra said. “I didn’t want her to go through that process that I did and I think that really led to me not knowing how to handle things.”
Kendra claimed she started sending the messages out of fear for her daughter
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
The mother said she didn’t send the initial messages, but eventually continued the textual saga because she wanted to find out who was behind them.
She claimed she sent the lewd messages to both Lauryn and Owen, hoping that they would discuss them among their friends and classmates in school and “something might come up.”
“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,” the mother said. “I was somebody different in those moments. I was in an awful place mentally. It was like I had a mask on or something, I didn’t even know who I was.”
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
When Skye Borgman, the director of the Netflix documentary, first sat down with Lauryn to interview her in the spring of 2023, she “at the time loved her mom.”
“She just wanted her mom back in her life,” the director told Tudum.
But when they interviewed her about a year later, Lauryn’s feelings seemed to have changed. Kendra had been released from prison by then.
“She’s got the most complicated feelings to deal with. Everybody else can hate Kendra. I don’t think Lauryn can, right? It’s your mom. I mean, how do you navigate that? It’s really uncharted waters,” Skye said.
“Everybody else can hate Kendra. I don’t think Lauryn can,” Skye Borgman said
Image credits: Netflix/Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
Lauryn is currently studying criminology in college and has hopes of having a future with her mother someday.
“Not having a relationship with my mum, I just don’t feel like myself. I really need her in my life,” she said in the documentary.
She also hopes her mother will get the help she needs before they finally meet.
“So when we see each other, it doesn’t go back to the old ways and the way it was before,” she added. “I love her more than anything.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm, help is available: International Hotlines
The haunting story has left netizens baffled since the documentary’s release
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