The prosecutor featured in Netflix’s documentary, “Unknown Number: The High School Catfish,” refers to the reason behind Kendra Licari’s actions as a “million-dollar question,” questioning why she cyberbullied her own daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend.
“I don’t think anybody ever really is going to know why she did this,” David Barberi told “Banfield” on Monday.
“I think our general theory is that as the harassment began to harm her daughter, her daughter looked to her for support. Through this relationship and the ongoing harassment, it seems Licari may have become dependent on that,” the prosecutor explained.
In the fall of 2020, Kendra Licari started sending hostile texts to her daughter, Lauryn, and Lauryn’s boyfriend, Owen McKenny, in an attempt to separate them.
The texts were often extremely vulgar, with many accusing Lauryn of not satisfying McKenny sexually, and sometimes amounted to 40-50 messages daily. Licari admitted her actions were tied to unresolved trauma from being raped at 17.
Licari was arrested in 2022. She was sentenced to 19 months in prison as a result in March 2023.
Documentary didn’t capture effect on families involved: Prosecutor
Despite her courtroom apology, Barberi believes Licari’s words did little for the affected families, considering the damage caused.
“It’s hard to convey the full extent of this experience in an hour and a half, when the families endured it for more than a year,” Barberi stated. “This ongoing trauma, this harassment, these constant explicit messages were a pervasive experience for all involved.”
Barberi specifically discussed Owen McKenny and his family, describing how much pain and anguish they went through during the ordeal.
McKenny also received nonstop texts from Kendra Licari for over two years.
“You can only imagine what it would be like to be his mother and his family having to watch their son deal with this over a year of battling this in school and with friends and trying to figure out where it was coming from, you know?” Barberi noted.
