What happens when the person behind the anonymous texts isn’t a stranger, but your own mother? Netflix’s new No.1 documentary, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, tells one of the most disturbing true crime stories in recent memory. It revisits the small town of Beal City, Michigan, where a teenage girl was tormented for over a year by threatening, obscene messages – only to discover that the sender was her own mom.
Directed by Skye Borgman, known for Girl in the Picture and Abducted in Plain Sight, the film blends interviews, police body cam footage, and the raw voices of those involved to explore a case that rattled a community and defied comprehension. Here is everything you need to know about Unknown Number: The High School Catfish – from the story and cast to reviews and release date. The trailer is at the bottom of the article.
All the key details about Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
- Title: Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
- Format: Documentary film
- Length: 92 minutes
- Genre: True crime, Documentary
- Year of release: 2025
- Director: Skye Borgman
- Main cast: Self-portrayals
- Produced by: Netflix
What happens in Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?
At the center of the documentary is Lauryn Licari, a Michigan high schooler who began receiving a barrage of anonymous texts in 2021. The messages were cruel, explicit, and relentless – as many as 30 to 50 per day – tearing at her relationship with her boyfriend Owen and urging her to end her life. The harassment spread fear among classmates and baffled local police, who eventually called in the FBI.
When investigators finally traced the messages, the truth was unthinkable: the tormentor was Lauryn’s own mother, Kendra Licari. The revelation sent shockwaves through Beal City and shattered the trust of a family. The film captures not only the unraveling of the case but also the intimate aftermath, showing how Lauryn, Owen, and their families tried to process a betrayal that blurred the line between protection and persecution.
Who’s in the cast of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?
Because this is a documentary, everyone on screen is portraying themselves. Viewers hear directly from Lauryn Licari, her father Shawn, and ex-boyfriend Owen McKenny, as well as Owen’s parents, friends, school officials, and law enforcement officers who investigated the case. Even Kendra Licari, the woman at the center of the scandal, appears in the film. Director Skye Borgman weaves their testimonies into a tense and heartbreaking narrative.
Is Unknown Number: The High School Catfish based on a true story?
Yes. The Netflix documentary is rooted in a disturbing real case from Beal City, Michigan. In 2021, police uncovered that Kendra Licari had been sending hundreds of abusive, anonymous text messages to her own teenage daughter, Lauryn, and Lauryn’s boyfriend, Owen. The harassment, which included sexual taunts and repeated messages urging Lauryn to kill herself, continued for more than a year until the FBI traced the messages back to Licari, who had been disguising her number through apps (TIME).
Her motive has never been fully explained. Prosecutor David Barberi told local news that it seemed Licari wanted her daughter to depend on her emotionally, describing the case as a form of “cyber Munchausen’s syndrome” – behavior that makes someone feel bad or vulnerable in order to keep them close. Licari was charged with two counts of stalking a minor in December 2022 and, in April 2023, sentenced to between 19 months and five years in prison (Cosmopolitan UK).
Beyond the crime itself, the film forces viewers to confront the darker edges of digital life – how technology can both connect and corrode family bonds, and how parental control can mutate into psychological manipulation when boundaries collapse.
What are the reviews on Unknown Number: The High School Catfish?
Early reactions highlight Borgman’s ability to turn an almost unthinkable story into a compelling 90-minute narrative. Critics point to the documentary’s raw interviews and restrained pacing, which allow the case to unfold with mounting dread rather than sensationalism. Viewers describe it as both horrifying and heartbreaking – a story that raises difficult questions about trust, parenting, and the hidden dangers of digital communication.
Where was Unknown Number: The High School Catfish filmed?
The documentary was filmed primarily in Michigan, combining small-town settings with extensive use of police footage and interviews. The result anchors the story in a very real community, reminding viewers that the events were not just a shocking headline, but a lived experience for the families involved.
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish: Behind the scenes and fun facts
Director Skye Borgman is an award-winning documentary director, known for exploring stories where trust is shattered in the most intimate ways. In this case, she had access to Lauryn and Owen’s families, school administrators, and investigators, building a documentary that balances psychological depth with procedural detail. The inclusion of police body cam footage from Kendra Licari’s arrest gives the film an immediacy rarely seen in the genre.
Skye has directed three new Netflix documentaries: The Girl in the Picture, tells the story of Sharon Marshall in a beautiful and feminine way not often seen in crime documentaries, I Just Killed My Dad is a nuanced exploration of the effects of trauma and Sins of Our Mother looks at the effects of a heinous crime on a mothers son (IMDb).
What’s Unknown Number: The High School Catfish like?
If you were gripped by Netflix’s Girl in the Picture or Abducted in Plain Sight, this documentary belongs on your list – blending the unsettling tension of true crime storytelling with the devastating intimacy of a family drama.
When is Unknown Number: The High School Catfish coming out on streaming?
Available now. Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is already streaming on Netflix, where it leads the U.S. Top 10 and is climbing to the top of the global Top 10 Netflix movie charts.
Release date: August 27, 2025 ► Watch on Netflix.
Watch the trailer
In the meantime, here’s the trailer.
