One of the most chilling parts of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish was watching Lauryn find out her own mother Kendra Licari was the person who had been sending her all the messages. Towards the end of the Netflix film, police body cam footage showed the moment Lauryn finally found out the truth.
In October 2020, a 13-year-old Lauryn Licari 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.
The texts commented on Lauryn’s looks, became threatening, and were often grotesquely sexual regarding her relationship with Owen, when they were both underage. In a shocking twist, the texts had in fact been sent by her own mother, Kendra Licari. This was all shown in the Netflix film.
People noticed that near the end, when we saw the moment Lauryn found out it was her own mother, she looked as though she was “dissociating”. One person said: “Lauryn’s body language during the whole search warrant scene is so sad that girl was so disconnected from reality.”
lauryn’s body language during the whole search warrant scene is so sad that girl was so disconnected from reality #UnknownNumberTheHighSchoolCatfish
— tk (@offwhiteferrari) September 3, 2025
‘It’s the body’s way of protecting itself’
In the moment, Lauryn looked distant, and didn’t say much. Kendra hugged her daughter, who barely even reacted. Now, a body language expert has had their say about the chilling moment. A lot of people were shocked Lauryn didn’t react more, but an expert has said her lack of movement and speech actually said a lot.
Lekan Alli-Balogun said: “What struck me most in Lauryn’s reaction was how her body gave her feelings away before she said a single word. Before the police revealed the truth, she was swinging lightly on her chair, a little release of nervous energy, a way of coping with the tension in the room.
“The moment she heard it was her mum, she froze. Her eyes dropped to the floor and the swinging stopped. It’s shock, the body shutting down while the mind scrambles to process something it never expected. Then came the head turn, moving her face away from her mother. That’s instinct.
“When we’ve been hurt by someone close, avoiding their gaze is often the first thing we do. It’s the body’s way of protecting itself, of saying, ‘I can’t look at you right now’.”
via Netflix
‘That hug feels less about comfort and more about control’
After the initial news, Kendra stood and put her arms around Lauryn. But, Lauryn didn’t move into the hug at all. Instead, she locked eyes with the officer, and was staring without blinking.
“That fixed gaze says everything. In that moment, she’s shifted her trust from her mum to the authority figure in front of her,” Lekan added. “And what about the mother? Why reach out at all, knowing she’s the one responsible?
“From a psychological point of view, that hug feels less about comfort and more about control. It’s an attempt to hold on, to remind Lauryn, I’m still your mother, even as the truth has shattered that trust.”
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.
