Netflix creator weighs in on rare syndrome experts say caused mother to catfish her daughter

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish has gone straight into the top watched on Netflix, with people being completely shook by the outcome of the story. It’s found out Kendra Licari was catfishing her own daughter, and experts have said she may have been suffering from a very rare syndrome.

The documentary told the story of Lauryn Licari, who alongside her boyfriend Owen started receiving a string of horrible messages. In October 2020, a 13-year-old Lauryn and her then-boyfriend Owen began getting suspicious texts from an unknown number. There was a brief pause in the messages, but then it turned into a daily barrage of hate and threats, for the next 15 months.

After investigations focused around Lauryn and Owen’s school friends, the truth came out. In a shocking turn, it was revealed the messages were being sent by Kendra Licari – Lauryn’s mother.

via Netflix

What is Cyber Munchausen by proxy, the syndrome experts think Kendra Licari had?

One of the main questions Unknown Number: The High School Catfish raised is: Why did she do it? Experts in the show said she might have been suffering from a type of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, specifically a cyber variety. You might have heard of  Munchausen syndrome by proxy before, as the syndrome has been at the centre of multiple TV shows and films. A famous example of this is Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s story.

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Speaking in the Netflix documentary, one of the investigators said: “I think it was a Cyber Munchausen’s case. She wanted her daughter to need her in such a way that she was willing to hurt her. This is the way she chose to do that, versus physically trying to make her ill, which is typical Munchausen’s behaviour.”

Munchausen by proxy is a rare version of Munchausen syndrome. The syndrome is a physiological disorder, in which someone pretends to be ill or even deliberately makes themselves ill in order to get attention. By proxy is when someone does this to somebody else. Caregivers will make someone ill, or convince them they are, for the attention.

According to Cleveland Clinic, factitious disorder imposed on self, also known as Munchausen syndrome, is a mental health condition where you falsify an illness or symptoms. As per Better Health, this is often done to gain attention and sympathy.

The cyber element of this is when this was done online, in the case of Kendra Licari so her daughter would need to be “closer” to her.

via Netflix

The creator of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish has since spoken out about it

The big question of why Kendra Licari did what she did has also haunted the director of the Netflix show. “I don’t know that she really knows why she did it,” Skye Borgman told Tudum.

“She does mention in the documentary an assault that happened [to her] when she was right around Lauryn’s age. She talks about how scary that was for her to see her only child, her little girl, growing up, and that’s what she really relates to and that’s what she believes led her to sending these text messages and trying to keep Lauryn close.”

Speaking about Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Skye Borgman said this should be treated with caution, as it likely isn’t a recognised diagnosis. “To give it any sort of medical foundation is a little bit problematic. … But I think that there are elements about Munchausen by proxy — about harming someone to keep them close — that definitely existed,” she said.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.