Netflix’s latest true crime release Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is as unsettling as it is hard to stop watching. Directed by Skye Borgman, the documentary follows one of the most disturbing catfishing cases in recent memory – not just because of the methods used, but because of the culprit behind them.

Set in Beal City, Michigan, the film tells the true story of Kendra Licari, a mother who spent over a year sending cruel and anonymous messages to her own teenage daughter, Lauryn – and her daughter’s boyfriend – pretending to be a jealous classmate.

Whether you’ve already watched and still can’t quite the story, or you're about to press play and want some background info, we’ve rounded up the five most shocking revelations from Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, below.

1. The texts were cruel and unrelenting

The messages sent to Lauryn were cruel, sexually graphic, and persistently aggressive – many of them urging her to kill herself.

For over a year, Lauryn and her boyfriend Owen were bombarded by messages from a supposedly anonymous classmate. The texts claimed Owen was cheating, accused Lauryn of being unattractive, and included sexually explicit language that left even investigators disturbed. Most unsettlingly, the texts used “Lo,” a nickname only those close to Lauryn would know.

2. The catfisher was Lauryn’s own mother

Perhaps the most shocking moment in Unknown Number is when the investigation reveals the sender’s identity as  Kendra Licari – Lauryn’s mother.

Kendra had been masquerading as a classmate, sending between 30–50 messages a day, and using encrypted messaging apps to hide her identity. All the while, she continued to play the role of concerned parent, even checking in with local police about the case – while she was behind it all.

Body cam footage shows Kendra calmly cooperating as police arrive to arrest her in December 2022, while a stunned Lauryn stands silently by her side.

3. The FBI cracked the case via the digital trail

The turning point in the investigation came when local authorities called in the FBI in April 2022. It was FBI liaison Bradley Peter who pieced together the digital breadcrumbs.

By tracing the origin of the messages to a specific app and then issuing subpoenas to US phone company Verizon, the FBI discovered that many messages linked back to Kendra’s personal phone.

The fact that Kendra had inserted herself into the investigation and stayed in close contact with police only made the revelation more surreal. It was, as one official put it, “the cyber version of Munchausen syndrome.”

4. Kendra's motives remain deeply confusing

The documentary tries to unravel Kendra’s motivations, but even after multiple interviews, the full answer remains elusive.

Kendra admits she was afraid of Lauryn growing up, in part because of her own expeirence being sexually assaulted when she was 17. “As my daughter was hitting those teenage years, I got scared,” she says in the documentary. “I was afraid of letting her grow up, want[ed] to protect her and keep her safe.” Some experts in the film also suggest Kendra was seeking emotional dependency, perhaps even trying to make Lauryn rely on her for comfort during the harassment.

There are also hints of more complicated feelings: Owen, Lauryn’s boyfriend, claims Kendra showed him unusual attention, including cutting his steak into small pieces when he visited for dinner, checking in on him alone, and attending his sports events even after the couple had broken up.

5. Kendra and Lauryn's relationship remains complicated

Kendra was arrested and sentenced to 19 -months jail time in 2023, during which she and Lauryn initially stayed in touch. When interviewed that same year, Lauryn even admitted she missed her mother, despite everything.

But by 2024, things had shifted. In a follow-up interview, Lauryn revealed that she had become more cautious and emotionally guarded. As director Skye Borgman puts it, Lauryn was no longer certain how much of a relationship she wanted with her mother. “She didn't hate her mother at all,” Borgman says, “but she was a little bit more measured in communications... and how much she was willing to let Kendra into her life.”

At the end of the documentary, Kendra has been released from prison – but the two haven’t seen each other in a year and a half.