Unknown Number: What happened to Kendra Licari and where is she now? Details from the Netflix documentary, explored

The new Netflix documentary, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, is bound to send chills down the spine. Especially after coming to know about the big revelation, the audience must be brimming with several questions.

Helmed by Skye Borgman, this documentary studies a shocking real-life case of cyberbullying, catfishing, and harassment that a high school student, Lauryn Licari, along with her then-partner, has been through. What is even more unsettling is the truth about its perpetrator.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Unknown Number. Reader discretion is advised.

In the documentary, it is eventually revealed that it was all Lauryn's mother, Kendra Licari's, doing. So why did Kendra resort to committing such a heinous crime, too, targeting her own daughter? Also, where is Kendra now?

Well, the actual motive behind Kendra's actions is not really found in Unknown Number. But, by looking at her behavioral pattern, there have been some observations and some possible diagnoses. At present, Kendra is on supervised release from prison till February 2026, and is living in Michigan.

Keep reading to find out everything about Kendra Licari in Unknown Number.

Unknown Number: A shocking true story of trauma, disbelief, and the mother wound

On 29th August 2025, Netflix released the documentary Unknown Number, which features a true case of catfishing, cyberbullying, and harassment in Beal City, Michigan. It follows the case of a 13-year-old girl, Lauryn, who goes through it along with her former partner, Owen.

It began in the fall of 2020, in October, when Lauryn and Owen's phones started buzzing with problematic messages from an unidentified source. Those messages were halted for some time but restarted the following year, in September 2021. The messages constituted deeply violent and menacing language.

However, eventually, with the intervention of the school authorities, police, and the FBI, the truth was finally revealed in Unknown Number. And it is perhaps one of the most bizarre and unsettling revelations ever. Turns out, the perpetrator of this crime is Lauryn's own mother, Kendra. This has not only ripped apart the Licari family but has also gravely stunned people around them.

It is common knowledge that parental figures are supposed to be the safest space for their children. But unfortunately, many times, our society does not reflect that value. In Unknown Number, we realize how Lauryn has been subjected to trauma and violence by her mother. One would undoubtedly wonder what made Kendra inflict such violence and harm against her own child.

Well, there is no clear answer to this question in the documentary. As reported by Netflix, even the director, Skye Borgman, has no concrete answer to it. But this documentary does feature Kendra's interview. In Unknown Number, she revealed the trauma that she had been through at a young age, so she was driven by the urgent need to safeguard Lauryn, as Skye Borgman shares:

“She does mention in the documentary an assault that happened [to her] when she was right around Lauryn’s age,”

Adding:

“She talks about how scary that was for her to see her only child, her little girl, growing up, and that’s what she really relates to and that’s what she believes led her to sending these text messages and trying to keep Lauryn close.”

Furthermore, Borgman reveals how Kendra feels now, looking back at her disturbing actions in the past. He also mentions how he feels about the future of the relationship between Lauryn and Kendra, as he further mentions:

“She’s remorseful that she has severely altered her relationship with her daughter in most likely a negative way. 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.”

However, by looking at Kendra's conduct, the solicitor of Isabella County, David Barberi, along with the authorities at Lauryn's school, mentioned her possible diagnosis. It is associated with a psychological condition named Munchausen Syndrome.

David Barberi, while speaking to Local12, states:

"Someone else coined the term, but they called it a version of 'cyber Munchausen's syndrome'. This seems to be the type of behavior where you're making somebody feel bad or need you in their life because of this behavior."

Similarly, as per Netflix, Skye Borgman mentions Kendra's psychological condition by saying:

“To give it any sort of medical foundation is a little bit problematic. … But I think that there are elements about Munchausen by proxy -- about harming someone to keep them close -- that definitely existed.”

Kendra Licari was detained with an indictment for stalking a minor and her use of the computer to commit the crime in December 2022. She was condemned for a period of 19 months to 5 years.

However, after almost 20 months, she was released provisionally on August 8, 2024. It extends up to next year, on February 2026. At present, Kendra is in Michigan, as per the government documents.