Dad's emotional reaction to finding out wife had anonymously bullied and harassed their daughter online for a year

A dad who discovered his wife had been anonymously bullying and harassing their daughter has spoken about the moment he found out.

13-year-old Lauryn Licari began receiving numerous anonymous messages in October 2020, and her then-boyfriend, Owen McKenny, was also receiving them.

After stopping for a bit, the threatening texts resumed almost a year later in September 2021.

Lauryn's mother, Kendra Licari, and Owen's mother collaborated with school officials and law enforcement in Beal City in an attempt to catch the anonymous stalker. But it was soon discovered it was Kendra all along.

The case is explored in the new Netflix documentary, Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.

The doc delves into how police uncovered the truth, and the messages that Lauryn and Owen received, including 'He thinks you're ugly', referring to Owen, as well as 'You're worthless', 'We won' and 'He thinks you're trash'.

Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny were stalked and harassed by Lauryn's mother for over a year (Netflix)

Disturbingly, some messages even included sexually explicit terms, saying that they wanted to 'bang' Owen and telling Lauryn that Owen didn't want her and that they are 'both down to f***'.

The doc also reveals the moment that Lauryn's dad, Shawn Licari, discovered the truth.

He said: "I get this crazy phone call at work, and it's the sheriff saying that they figured it out. I'm like, 'sweet, finally this is gonna be over with'.

"He's like, 'I'm sorry, I gotta' tell you this... unfortunately it's your wife'."

Shawn explained he was speechless at the news, and rushed home from work where he was met by the sheriff on the front porch.

In body cam footage of the moment, he told Shawn: "This is the deal, every time the kids received a message, her number came back.

"So that was enough for a search warrant, and that's why we're here today.

"So we took her phone and her computer, my detective is collecting that."

Shawn asked the sheriff which phone the authorities took, explaining that Kendra had more than one.

"I have a search warrant for all of them, so I'd like to get all of them," he said.

"Felony stalking. That's what the charge is.

"I knew there was a lot of things going on... I know she was let go from Ferris."

Shawn explained how the police told him that Kendra had lost both of her jobs, but he was under the impression that she had resigned.

Shawn spoke about the moment he discovered the truth (Netflix)

Speaking in the doc, the sheriff said: "Shawn looked like a broken person, he just... he was trying to process what I had just told him.

"There was a lot more to unpack than just what was going on with Lauryn."

Shawn then entered the property where Kendra and Lauryn were sitting.

He questioned Kendra regarding the two jobs she lost, before ringing Kendra's parents to come and collect her.

"We've got to be separated for a little while," said Shawn, who was visibly in shock at what he had heard.

In the documentary, Kendra insisted that she didn't send the initial messages received by her daughter, which told her Owen was going to break up with her, and that she only sent those that followed in an attempt to get to the bottom of things.

She said: "The messages stopped for a little bit, and then they picked back up. In my mind, I'm like, 'How long do we let this go on? What do I do as a parent?'

"I really wanted to get to the bottom of who it was. And that's when I started sending the text messages to Lauryn and Owen."

In Netflix documentary 'Unknown Number: The High School Catfish' Kendra reveals why she did it (Netflix)

Kendra claimed that she hoped the teens would discuss the messages with their friends and 'something might come up that could help pinpoint where they were originating from'.

"I started in the thoughts of needing some answers, and then I just kept going, it was a spiral, kind of a snowball effect, I don't think I knew how to stop," she admitted. "I was somebody different in those moments. I was in an awful place mentally. It was like I had a mask on or something, I didn't even know who I was."

Kendra has previously expressed remorse for her actions, and in the documentary, she says she is very 'disappointed' in herself and that she has let herself and her family down.

Lauryn is now living with Shawn, who has full custody of his daughter.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is available to stream on Netflix now.