SAEDNEWS: Netflix’s new documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish chronicles years of anonymous, abusive texts sent to Michigan teens Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny — a campaign investigators ultimately traced to Lauryn’s mother, Kendra Licari, who pleaded guilty to stalking charges and served prison time.
According to SaedNews, what began in late 2020 as a handful of anonymous messages quickly escalated into a sustained campaign of harassment and sexualized threats aimed at a then-13-year-old couple in small-town Michigan. The perpetrators used software to spoof numbers, evaded blocking and flooded the pair with up to 50 texts per day, investigators say. Local police and federal cyber teams traced the messages through IP and device forensics to an address in the Mt. Pleasant area; when confronted, Kendra Licari admitted to sending the texts and later acknowledged escalating her actions after initial anonymous messages.
Charged in December 2022 with stalking and related computer-crime counts, Kendra pleaded guilty to two stalking counts in April 2023 and received a minimum 19-month prison term; she was released on parole in August 2024 and is barred from contacting her daughter. The documentary includes interviews with the victims, family members and law-enforcement officials, and shows both the emotional toll on the teens and how digital forensics ultimately identified the sender. Filmmakers say Kendra framed her actions as rooted in fear and past trauma; survivors and commentators frame the case as a stark example of how abuse can come from within the family and how technology can magnify harm.
Date | Event |
|---|---|
Oct 2020 | Anonymous texts begin |
2021 | Harassment intensifies — up to ~50 texts/day with increasingly sexual and threatening content |
Dec 2022 | Kendra Licari arrested and charged |
Apr 2023 | Guilty plea to two stalking counts; other charges dismissed under plea deal |
Aug 2024 | Kendra released on parole; custody changes (father receives full custody) |
Aug 29, 2025 | Netflix releases Unknown Number: The High School Catfish |
