Licensed psychologist Dr. Mcayla Sarno has weighed in on the scandal documented in Netflix’s Unknown Number: The High School Catfish and explained Kendra Licari’s motives when she decided to cyberbully her daughter, Lauryn Licari, and her then-boyfriend, Owen McKenny.
In October 2020, 13-year-old Lauryn and McKenney were targeted by an unknown cyberstalker. They received thousands of text messages that included vile insults before the FBI got involved and discovered that it was Kendra behind the messages.
After the documentary premiered in August, Sarno took to TikTok to share her thoughts about the situation and attempted to explain Kendra’s thought process. “What would make a mother harass and torment her own daughter?” Sarno asked at the beginning of the clip.
After noting that Kendra wasn’t “just a mom under stress,” she explained that she felt a “deep need for control.” Sarno said that Kendra treated Lauryn as an “extension” of her “own identity” instead of as a daughter.
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“Everything, the messages, the lies, the manipulation. It was all about power and ego, but not love. It was deliberate because she needed to control the story and the narrative and keep that dominance,” Sarno continued. “Hurting Lauryn kept her scared and dependent and easy to manipulate.”
Sarno added that Kendra’s decision to cyberbully Lauryn “wasn’t a mistake. It was abuse disguised as care.”
Another topic Sarno addressed was whether or not digital munchausen is real. Digital munchausen takes place “when medically well individuals fake recognized illnesses in virtual environments, such as online support groups,” according to the National Library of Medicine.
“Munchausen is very real. And Kendra’s behavior is a perfect example. It’s when someone fabricates illness, danger or crisis online to gain attention or sympathy or control,” Sarno said. “In Kendra’s case, this isn’t just munchausen by internet, it’s a behavioral pattern sitting on top of a narcissistic personality structure. Munchausen is the strategy she used to get attention and manipulate people. But the narcissism is what drives it. The need for control, admiration and power over others.”
Sarno said that the “distinction matters” because “she will likely hide behind the munchausen label and the public may focus on it in a way that softens their judgement of her.”
Later on in the clip, Sarno said that the documentary made the mistake of not including a psychologist to provide context about the inner workings of Kendra’s mind.
After she pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking a minor in March 2023, Kendra was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison with a minimum sentence of one year and seven months behind bars. She was released on parole on August 8, 2024, which allowed her to participate in the documentary.
As part of the conditions of her parole, she will be supervised until February 2026, she cannot leave the state of Michigan and she must make “earnest efforts” to find and keep a job, according to Today.com. Additionally, Kendra agreed to not be in contact with Lauryn or Owen as part of her plea deal.
Despite not currently being in contact with Lauryn, Kendra said in the documentary that she believes they will one day mend their relationship. “We both know that we’re with each other, no matter what,” she told the filmmakers.
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Lauryn, who has since broken up with McKenny, graduated from high school in 2025 and is ready for “the next phase of her life.”
She also seemed hopeful about mending her relationship with Kendra. “I think I want to trust her now, but I don’t think I can,” Lauryn said in the documentary. “Now that she’s out, I just want her to get the help she needs so then when we see each other, it doesn’t go back to the old ways and how it was before.”
