As Netflix documentaries go, it's a shocking one. In 2021, US school student Lauryn Licari and her then-boyfriend Owen McKenny started getting abusive text messages from an unknown number. At first, the messages claimed that Owen was breaking up with Lauryn. The teen couple tried to brush them off, but the messages became relentless. At one point, the teens received up to 50 messages a day, including threats, insults, and sexually explicit comments.
The documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish documents how these messages continued for two years. The shocking twist? An FBI investigation revealed they were sent by Lauryn's own mother, Kendra Licari. She was found guilty of catfishing and cyber stalking her daughter and her daughter’s then-boyfriend.
The crazy reveal has led the documentary to go viral and claim the number one spot in Netflix's top ten. It even features interviews with Kendra herself, who almost didn't agree to appearing on the show. With the case back in the spotlight, lots of people are wondering where Kendra Licari is now.
Who is Kendra Licari?
Kendra Licari lived a relatively low-key life before her arrest. She was married to her husband Shawn, and the couple lived in Beal City, Michigan, a typical US small town. They had one daughter, Lauryn, and Kendra was said to be very involved in her life, even coaching her school's basketball team.
She worked in the IT department at Ferris State University, but reportedly quit in 2021. This is covered in the documentary, when Shawn discovers she kept it a secret and says he had no idea that she had left her job. The show also features an interview with her friend, Melissa Perry, who says she noticed a change in Kendra's behaviour around this time. 'She was more introverted, didn't reach out as much. I guess more self-absorbed, too, maybe,' Perry told the show.
The documentary details how Kendra Licari sent anonymous messages to her daughter and her boyfriend Owen for two years, sometimes as many as 40 to 50 a day. Kendra sent the messages using an app that created new phone numbers, making it impossible to block. She was caught when an FBI investigation linked the IP address back to Kendra.
In the documentary, Kendra alleges she didn't send the initial batch of messages to her daughter, but started crafting her own in an attempt to catch the perpetuator. She also claimed her own personal trauma fuelled her motivation to continue sending the messages.
Is Kendra Licari in prison?
Kendra was arrested in December 2022. According to Netflix's Tudum, she pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking a minor and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison. Kendra was released from prison on parole in August 2024.
Kendra wasn't always going to appear in the documentary. 'It was a long process with Kendra,' director Skye Borgman told Tudum, who said that she eventually agreed because she wanted to answer questions around the case. 'That was appealing to her,' Borgman added '[to] sit down and tell her story from her perspective and that Lauryn [could] see her do that. She wanted to do it, I think, for her daughter.'
Are Kendra Licari and Shawn Licari still married?
The documentary explores the devastating toll of the messages on Kendra and Shawn's relationship. When Kendra was arrested, Shawn divorced his wife and won full custody of Lauryn.
'I just can't believe she would do something like that to her daughter that supposedly she loved dearly,' he said in the documentary. 'Just makes me sick. She stabbed me in the heart, shot me in the heart, and threw it away.'
Does Kendra Licari still have a relationship with Lauryn Licari?
The documentary charts Lauryn's reaction to the devastating news. At first, she insists she wants to maintain a close relationship with her mum, but Borgmon notes that she wanted to approach their relationship 'with more caution' in her second interview. Meanwhile, Kendra is still not allowed to see Lauryn, and tells the documentary it has been one and a half years since she last saw her daughter.
According to Tudum, Kendra still wants to be part of her daughter's life. 'She’s remorseful that she has severely altered her relationship with her daughter in most likely a negative way' Borgman told the outlet. 'I mean, will they have a relationship? Will they get through this? I don’t know. There will probably be some kind of relationship. Will it be the same? Absolutely not. There’s no way it can be the same.'
Alice Hall is the Staff Writer at Grazia UK. She was previously a Junior Features Writer for The Daily Telegraph. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, dating, health, politics and interiors.