Expert Answers The “Million-Dollar Question” About Why Mom Secretly Bullied Teen Daughter

“That’s a million-dollar question,” said prosecutor David Barberi when asked about why a Michigan mother would secretly bully her own daughter.

Kendra Licari was arrested for sending a string of cruel anonymous texts to her teen daughter Lauryn Licari for more than a year.

Their story has left the entire world questioning what Kendra’s motive was behind sending the vile messages to the teenager.

Prosecutor David Barberi spoke about the Michigan mother who secretly bullied her own daughter for over a year

Woman sitting in a living room, wiping tears from her face, reflecting the emotional impact of secret torment by a mom.

Image credits: Netflix

Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some. 

For more than a year, Lauryn lived in fear of receiving texts from unknown numbers, sending her hateful messages and demanding she break up with her then-boyfriend Owen McKenny.

“Owen loves me, and I will always be the girl he loves. He will be with me while your lonely, ugly a** is alone,” read one message.

Smiling woman wearing sunglasses and young girl in a close selfie, relating to mom secretly tormenting daughter case.

Image credits: Netflix

Meanwhile, Owen too was receiving as many as 30-50 messages a day, in which the sender made explicit advances towards him.

“It seemed like the text messages were trying to make me and Owen break up,” Lauryn said in the Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.

Some of the texts would bully Lauryn for her looks and dressing style.

“‘Trash b****, don’t wear leggings ain’t no one want to see your anorexic flat a**,’” Lauryn recalled one text and added, “It definitely affected how I thought about myself.”

“It seemed like the text messages were trying to make me and Owen break up,” Lauryn said in the Netflix documentary

Woman sitting in a dark room using multiple computer screens, illustrating secret torment and online investigation themes.

Image credits: Netflix

Lauryn and Owen eventually decided to break up, but the text messages continued coming from unknown numbers.

“We won,” the texter said after the breakup, along with messages like “he thinks you’re ugly” and “he thinks you’re trash.”

At some point, the texts began encouraging thoughts of self-harm, saying: “Jump off a bridge,” “his life would be better if you were d**d,” and “Finish yourself or we will #bang.”

Teen girl leaning against school lockers, looking at phone, illustrating themes of secret torment and emotional distress.

Image credits: Netflix

All the while, Kendra played the role of a comforting mother and would console Lauryn amid the harassment.

She even pretended to help the police with their investigation, carefully hiding the fact that she was the tormentor all along.

Prosecutor David Barberi shared his thoughts on Kendra’s actions and what her intentions might have been.

Kendra played the role of a comforting mother in front of Lauryn while carefully hiding that she was the tormentor all along

@newsnationnowDavid Barberi, the prosecutor in the Kendra Licari cyberbullying case at the center of the Netflix documentary, “Unknown Number: The High School Catfish,” says there is still a question to be answered.♬ original sound – NewsNation

“I don’t think anybody ever really is going to know why she did this,” he told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield.

The Isabella County prosecutor believes Kendra orchestrated the situation to have her daughter come to her for comfort.

Mugshot of a woman accused of secretly tormenting her daughter, highlighting prosecutor’s case details.

Image credits: Netflix

Comment by Niketa Reeve criticizing a mother accused of secretly tormenting her daughter over a year.

“I think that the theory that we all have—that we lean on, anyways—is that … when this started to cause harm to her daughter, her daughter looked to her for comfort,” the prosecutor said.

“Over the course of that relationship and this harassment, I think that she kind of fed on that, but it’s hard to say for sure, and we were never able to really identify a true motive,” he added.

“Her daughter looked to her for comfort,” the prosecutor said while talking about the mother’s possible motives

Family of three wearing sunglasses posing outdoors with a young girl holding a sports trophy fed on that prosecutor keywords

Image credits: Netflix

Comment from Jenni Bond McLean speculating on a family agreement related to payment for a documentary.

David said Kendra’s apology in court “fell short” for loved ones, especially since none of them suspected her.

“She did apologize in court, she offered some sort of an explanation for her behavior. But I think it really fell short for a lot of the families that were involved and a lot of the harm that she caused everybody,” the prosecutor said.

Mother and daughter sit indoors wearing sportswear, as prosecutor explains alleged secret torment over a year.

Image credits: Netflix

Comment by Shaheema Jackson discussing mom's possible mental health condition and personality disorder related to secret tormenting.

In the documentary, Owen and his mother said Kendra’s actions may have been driven by her attraction to her daughter’s then-boyfriend.

“I think she became obsessed with Owen, which is hard being a mum and that she’s a grown woman but I think that there’s some kind of relationship that she wanted to have with Owen that obviously is not acceptable at her age,” Owen’s mother Jill McKenny said.

Owen and his mother claimed Kendra was “obsessed” with him even after he broke up with Lauryn

Woman with tears in her eyes explaining case details as prosecutor discusses mom secretly tormenting daughter over a year

Image credits: Netflix

Comment by Jennifer Lineback Foor discussing how mom secretly tormented daughter over a year, focusing on interactions with daughter's boyfriend.

“She would randomly just text him and try to keep a connection with him, she came to all of his sporting events even after him and Lauryn broke up,” she continued. “This is disgusting.”

Owen agreed and claimed Kendra would be “super friendly” towards him.

“It felt like she was attracted to me … It wasn’t like it was my girlfriend’s mum, it felt like it was something more. She would do things for me, she would cut my own steak for me, it was too weird,” he added.

Woman comforting crying daughter in a kitchen setting as prosecutor discusses mom secretly tormenting daughter over time

Image credits: Netflix

After getting caught, Kendra pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a minor and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison.

She and her husband Shawn Licari divorced, with the father getting custody rights over their daughter.

Kendra blamed her childhood trauma for her actions and said she didn’t know how to stop

Two women in a courtroom setting, one appearing concerned as prosecutor explains mom secretly tormented daughter over a year.

Image credits: Netflix

Kendra also made an appearance in the documentary and blamed her childhood trauma for her actions.

“When I was 17, I was r***d and as my daughter was hitting those teenage years I got scared, very scared,” she said. “I didn’t want her to go through that process that I did and I think that really led to me not knowing how to handle things.”

She said the situation spiraled and had a “kind of snowball effect.”

“I don’t think I knew how to stop,” the mother said. “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.”

Image credits: NewsNation

The accused mother addressed the body-shaming messages she sent to her daughter.

“Lauryn knows she’s skinny, she knows she’s petite, she knows she’s thin, so I might have kind of picked up on some of her insecurities,” she said before adding, “I was not scared of her hurting herself.”

Kendra was released from prison in August last year and is currently not allowed to see Lauryn.

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm, help is available: International Hotlines

Some netizens wondered whether the “daughter was in on it”

Comment by Angel Isla discussing a mother who secretly tormented her daughter, shared in a social media post.

Comment by Ricky Oleary stating that someone definitely had Münchausen syndrome in a social media post about mom secretly tormenting daughter.

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Comment by Jaime Maurer expressing disbelief and sadness about a mother secretly tormenting her daughter over a year.

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Comment expressing shock about an innocent-looking mom secretly tormenting her daughter with gaslighting and manipulation.

Screenshot of comment by Brittany Anne discussing possible daughter’s reaction and emotional state in the context of alleged secret torment.

Comment discussing possible Munchausen syndrome and harassment related to mom secretly tormenting daughter for over a year.

Comment criticizing a mother for sending death threats and perverse texts to her daughter, urging monitoring and restriction.

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Comment from Katrina May Coleman describing how a mother secretly tormented her daughter with harmful messages.

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Text post by Taylor Haley Cortez explaining trauma bond and Stockholm syndrome in children secretly tormented by mom over time.

Comment from Denise Marvet suggesting the mom secretly tormented daughter by blaming her for messages over a year.

Comment from Annette Fowler expressing disbelief that the daughter stood by her mom amid secret torment over a year.

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Comment by Kirst Parkinson expressing hope the daughter understands the alleged secret torment by her mom over time.

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