Michigan mother convicted in months-long harassing texts to teen

A Michigan mother who anonymously bombarded her teenage daughter and the daughter's boyfriend with months of sexually explicit and threatening text messages was identified and convicted after a federal-assisted probe, according to a new documentary and court records. The revelations, recounted in the Netflix film Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, center on messages first received in late 2020 by then-13-year-olds Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny in Beal City, Mich., and culminated in the arrest and conviction of Lauryn's mother, 44-year-old Kendra Licari.

The campaign of harassment began with messages suggesting McKenny was ending the relationship and escalated over the following year into dozens of daily texts that mocked Lauryn's appearance, made lewd claims about McKenny and, in some instances, urged Lauryn to kill herself. Reports varied on the exact volume, but friends and family said the couple was sometimes sent dozens of messages a day, often through the night, which strained the teens' relationship and prompted law enforcement involvement.

Local authorities began investigating after school officials raised alarms. In early 2022 the FBI joined the inquiry. FBI...