STALKED BY HER OWN MOM

TEEN TORMENTED BY CRUEL TEXTS FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS

- LIAM QUINN

NETFLIX'S UNKNOWN tter NUMBER: THE HIGH SCHOOL CATFISH TELLS THE TRUE STORY OF A STUDENT WHOSE BULLY'S MYSTERIOUS IDENTITY IS REVEALED

Lauryn Licari and her boyfriend Owen McKenny were a pair of happy 13-year-olds in October 2020, ready to conquer the new school year together in the tiny, close-knit town of Beal City, Mich. Both star athletes, and thought of as their school's "golden couple," they'd met in the seventh grade and appeared to have an enduring bond. But then the torrent of anonymous text messages that would put their relationship to the test began flooding in. "Hi Lauryn," the first one read. "Owen is breaking up with you."

HIGH SCHOOL GOLDEN COUPLE' Classmates were suspected of being jealous of Lauryn and Owen (seen in Netflix's Unknown Number).

It would only get worse, with more and more messages blowing up their phones, turning increasingly threatening and sexually explicit. The mysterious sender, who used a variety of different phone numbers, suggested Owen was "DTF" and wanted to have oral sex and began preying on Lauryn's insecurities, calling her "anorexic" and claiming no one wanted her around. Eventually the cyberbullying, as depicted in Netflix's new hit documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, reached a disturbing fever pitch. "Kill yourself now bitch," one text read. "[Owen's] life would be better if you were dead."