Studying Time: 3 minutes
When you’re one of many hundreds of thousands of Netflix subscribers who’ve streamed the true crime doc Unknown Quantity: The Excessive College Catfish, then you definitely already know the unusual story of Kendra Licari.
For the uninitiated, right here’s the deal (spoilers lie forward, clearly):
For almost two years, Licari’s daughter, Lauryn, and her boyfriend, Owen McKenney, have been terrorized by an nameless bully who harassed them with an countless barrage of vile textual content messages.
Kendra Licari speaks to producers within the Netflix documentary ‘Unknown Number.’ (Netflix)
Along with hurling insults at Lauryn, the texter would steadily instruct her to take her personal life.
And the doc’s stunning third-act twist is that the messages have been despatched by none aside from Lauryn’s mom, who — to the shock of her husband and everybody else in her group — had way back been fired from her job and had devoted her days to verbally abusing her solely youngster.
Evidently, Kendra Licari just isn’t precisely the hero of this story.
So why would she agree to seem on digicam and talk about her crimes with the movie’s producers?
‘Unknown Number’ producers say Kendra ‘loved the experience’ of telling her story
Unknown Quantity director Skye Borgman not too long ago opened up about her expertise with Kendra, and he or she provided a concept as to why she might need determined to open up.
“She was nervous about going on camera, because just sitting down and telling your story is a nerve-racking thing sometimes,” Borgman informed Selection this week.
“But she was so great, and she actually ended up really loving the experience. At the end of it, she said it was kind of fun. She laughed about things, and I think it was really an opportunity for her to think about things a little bit more in depth.”
To be able to perceive how bonkers it’s that Kendra loved telling her story, you want to keep in mind that her texts consisted of a few of these vile sentiments ever transmitted by way of iPhone.
“It is obvious he wants me, his attention is constantly on me … Not sure what he told you but he is coming to the Halloween party and we are both DTF,” Kendra informed her daughter of her then-boyfriend, Owen.
“He wants nothing to do with you … He thinks you’re annoying and an ugly a-s b–ch and wishes you would leave him the f–k alone … Why do you think he is on his phone all the time texting me?” she continued, including:
Kendra and Lauryn Licari in ‘Unknown Number.’ (Netflix)
“You didn’t get invited to sleep with him, I did. I’m spending the night with him, I’m sharing a bed with him, not you.”
After which, after all, there have been the various, many messages through which Kendra instructed Lauryn to kill herself.
Towards the tip of the doc, Kendra — having served 18 months for felony harassment — tried to clarify her actions.
And whereas it is smart that her previous trauma might need impressed such horrific deeds, there’s actually no explaining such appalling habits.
In fact, we’re type of glad she tried. Regardless of its many horrors, Unknown Quantity is a damned entertaining watch.
