The director of a new Netflix documentary series said a Michigan woman who catfished her own teenage daughter and the girl's then-boyfriend agreed to appear so she could "tell her story from her perspective" and so her daughter would see her attempt to explain her actions.
Skye Borgman, director of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, told Netflix's Tudum blog that Kendra Licardi, 44, cooperated after a lengthy process and because she wanted Lauryn, her daughter, to see her speak about what happened. "She wanted to do it, I think, for her daughter," Borgman said. Licardi served more than a year in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of stalking a minor.
The Netflix series recounts a months-long campaign of abusive and threatening messages sent in 2020 and 2021 to Lauryn Licardi and her then-boyfriend, Owen McKenny, who were both 13 when the texts began. The harassment began with an anonymous group chat message in October 2020 and resumed 11 months later from different numbers, according to interviews in the program. Texts included threats, sexualized messages and direct commands to harm themselves, participants said.
In the series, Licardi described to Borgman why she began impersonating an anonymous texter. She said she originally sought answers about the messages and hoped the teenager recipients would generate information that would help identify the source. "I really wanted to get to the bottom of who it was," she told the filmmaker. Licardi acknowledged the behavior escalated, saying it became a "spiral" and that she was "somebody different in those moments." Borgman said Licardi was nervous about appearing on camera but ultimately found the process reflective and, at times, "kind of fun."
The family and friends of Lauryn and McKenny mounted their own inquiries as the volume and content of the messages intensified. Owen McKenny and his parents described receiving dozens of texts daily; McKenny recalled sometimes getting as many as 50 messages in a day. By April following the first wave of messages, local law enforcement sought FBI assistance. FBI liaison Peter Bradley told authorities the IP addresses tied the anonymous messages to Licardi's devices, which led to a search warrant and questioning 22 months after the initial texts. Confronted with the evidence, Licardi admitted to sending the messages.
The revelation shocked both families, according to interviews included in the series. Lauryn's father said he had no prior knowledge of his wife's actions. Owen and his parents, who had developed a close relationship with Licardi before the truth emerged, expressed disbelief and distress. Owen described Licardi's behavior as "too weird" and said it felt like she was attempting to maintain an inappropriate connection long after he and Lauryn broke up.
Licardi told the filmmakers she lost employment while engaging in the harassment and sometimes spent between one and eight hours a day sending messages. She characterized the activity as an escape and later linked some of her attacks on Lauryn's body image to her own struggles with eating. When asked in the series whether she feared Lauryn might hurt herself after receiving texts that urged suicide, Licardi said she was not afraid, adding she knew her daughter well enough to assess the risk.
Lauryn recounted the emotional toll the messages had on her appearance and self-image and said the harassment contributed to the end of her relationship with McKenny. She has since enrolled in college to study criminology and told the documentary she still longs for a relationship with her mother, who is not currently allowed to see her.
The series' decision to include extensive interviews with Licardi prompted criticism on social media. Several users on X (formerly Twitter) accused Netflix of giving a platform to a person they described as a predator and said the program did not sufficiently challenge Licardi's account. One commentator wrote that the series blurred the line between exposing wrongdoing and platforming manipulation. Others called the show's treatment of the perpetrator "downplayed" and faulted the production for allowing Licardi to frame her narrative.
School Superintendent Bill Chillman, interviewed in the documentary, described the incident as resembling "cyber Munchausen's," arguing Licardi aimed to create a situation in which her daughter would need her. The documentary presents that interpretation alongside law enforcement accounts, survivor testimony and Licardi's own explanations.
Licardi pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking a minor and served more than a year in jail. The series documents the investigative timeline, the emotional aftermath for the teens and their families, and the legal consequences that followed. Borgman said asking Licardi difficult questions in interviews forced her to reflect and that the filmmaker believed the on-camera conversations were important to the story's completeness.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish premiered on Netflix amid continuing debate over the ethics of true-crime storytelling and the responsibilities of platforms that dramatize or document real-life abuse. The series presents interviews, message transcripts and law enforcement records tracing the case from the initial anonymous texts through the FBI-led tracing and Licardi's admission, leaving viewers to weigh the accounts and the documentary's framing. Lauryn has said she hopes to rebuild some form of relationship with her mother in the future, while the families continue to process the incident's lasting impact.