It sounds like the plot of a thriller. A teenage girl was tormented online for hours a day by a sadistic troll urging her to kill herself, only to discover the abuser was her own mother.
But this nightmare was all too real, and now it’s the subject of a chilling new Netflix documentary.
A Mother’s Secret Life
Kendra Licari, 44, appeared to be the picture of an ordinary Michigan parent, cheering her daughter Lauryn from the school sidelines. Behind closed doors, however, she orchestrated a two-year harassment campaign that would devastate her own family.
Starting in October 2020, Lauryn, then 13, and her boyfriend Owen McKenny were added to a group chat from an unknown number. Some messages pretended to be from Owen himself: breaking up with Lauryn and bragging about another girl.
One early text read: “Hi Lauryn, Owen is breaking up with you. He no longer likes you and hasn’t liked you for a while. It’s obvious he wants me. He laughs, smiles and touches my hair.”
Another added: “We are both down to f**. You are a sweet girl but I know I can give him what he wants, sorry not sorry.”
After a period of silence that lasted about 11 months, the abuse returned with alarming regularity, at least six messages a day, and quickly grew far darker:
- “Kill yourself now, b**h. His life would be better if you were dead.”*
- “Jump off a bridge.”
- “Finish yourself or we will #bang.”
Lauryn confided in her mother, unaware Kendra was the one secretly sending the texts.
FBI Investigation Exposes the Truth
For months, the harassment baffled families and authorities. Messages poured in daily, sometimes for up to eight hours at a time. Lauryn grew insecure, questioning her appearance and even what she wore to school. Her relationship with Owen eventually collapsed under the pressure.
It was only when the FBI got involved that liaison officer Peter Bradley traced the IP addresses to Licari’s devices. Confronted with the evidence, she admitted sending most of the messages but denied writing the first one.
She said she initially wanted to “get to the bottom” of the harassment but let it spiral into a “snowball effect.” Her family later discovered she had secretly been unemployed after being fired, spending her days sending the messages.
Munchausen by Wi-Fi
Experts described the case as a form of “cyber Munchausen’s” where instead of inducing physical illness, a parent manipulates a child emotionally.
“She wanted her daughter to need her in such a way that she was willing to hurt her,” said Superintendent Bill Chillman. “Instead of making her physically sick, she manipulated her emotionally.”
Psychologist Dr. Sasha Hall added that Licari’s behavior reflected “unresolved trauma and insecurity,” positioning herself as both the abuser and the comforter.
Sentencing and Fallout
Licari pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a minor and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison. She is barred from seeing Lauryn in person, though the two remain in limited contact.
Lauryn, now a criminology student, admits the betrayal still cuts deep: “Not having a relationship with my mum, I just don’t feel like myself. I really need her in my life.”
Experts caution, however, that Licari’s reflections continue to center on her own regret rather than the lasting trauma she inflicted.
A Story Too Twisted to Believe
The documentary, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, has brought Lauryn’s story to a wider audience, shocking viewers with the idea of a mother-turned-cyberstalker.
For Lauryn, it’s a chapter that left scars but also a determination to understand the darker corners of human behavior. And for many parents watching, it’s a terrifying reminder that sometimes the greatest danger doesn’t come from strangers, but from those closest to home.
