r/netflix • u/Ok-You-5930 • 20h ago
SPOILERS Unknown Number: What mental illness does Catfish Mom, Kendra Licari have? I have questions.. Spoiler
SPOILER ALERT: first, I’m really curious as to what mental illness Kendra Licari has. I have several family members with severe mental illness but I can’t figure this out…
It was so disturbing to learn what she did to her innocent daughter and her friends. But she was also obsessed with the boyfriend! And then we learn that she lied about having a job! And then we hear her skirt accountability blaming it on her trauma, and then we see how manipulative she is at every level. Like… I have questions. Weigh in on any:
- WTF did we just watch?
- What mentally illness do you think she has? And what makes you think that?
- Why was she fired?? We need a follow up on this. Sounds like Casey Anthony at Universal Studios..
- We’re all in agreement that she was obsessed with Owen right?
- HOW DID THIS PSYCHOPATH GET FREE IN 18 MONTHS?
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u/BambiMonroe 19h ago
The doc went so light on the mother. All the sexually explicit material was completely glossed over. Why wasn’t she charged with anything relating to that? She exposed minors, one of whom was her own daughter, to explicit language and material.
She appeared to take no accountability whatsoever.
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u/Beneficial_Fox_6029 19h ago
And then saying other people lose sight of the fact that ppl break the law and most people don't happen to get caught like she did?? Like no.. you didn't JUST get caught breaking the law ma'am. You told your daughter to kill herself and sent gross texts to her boyfriend and her. For almost 2 years. Thats just another thing completely& she should not be allowed to be in the presence of kids ever again. And the husband did not know.
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u/bek8228 16h ago
Her drunk driving example was so stupid. Yes, some people drive drunk and get away with it and that’s not ok at all. But a one time decision to drive drunk is not comparable to relentlessly harassing and threatening your own kid and her boyfriend every day for almost two years!
Her level of craziness to carry that out for so long is unbelievable. And her punishment did not fit the crime at all. She spent less time in prison than she did harassing the kids! And they will carry emotional scars for life because of her actions. She should have gotten 10+ years for what she did.
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u/Logical_Cut_9327 12h ago
Right. She said “it’s just like a DUI.” How, Kendra?! She minimized to a disturbing degree. And then at the trial said “I’ve learned to cope with my childhood trauma.” As if, Kendra is the victim and not an absolute monster. I can’t comprehend this level of sadism.
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u/sweetiepumpkin04 18h ago
They should have 100% focused more on the fact she’s talking about MINORS in such disgusting explicit ways. Absolutely disgusting
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u/JennaTulwartz 15h ago
She is clearly as deranged and dangerous as ever- there cannot be healing without honesty and accountability, and she lied and downplayed the entire interview. That she is not on the sex offender registry is appalling. She is absolutely a danger to young people.
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u/tazack 19h ago
Narcissism.
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u/Wtfmonstertruck 18h ago
I also agree she fits the bill for narcissistic personality disorder. Also probably a bit borderline PD and sociopathic too. That poor child. All the children. The families. Just sick.
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u/tazack 18h ago
She operates out of complete self preservation and filling her “supply” with zero regard to others’ feelings. Textbook covert narcissism.
Especially when her sister (I think?) was talking about some of their memories and always wanting to be the center of attention. ”Like if she was here right now and saw you (the producer) talking to me, she’d be over there dancing, saying ‘look at me!’”
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u/AggravatingCamp9315 10h ago
That's what made me so upset. No responsibility and her excuses made no sense. At one point she says she was raped and was scared the same thing would happen to her daughter.....so she sent sexually explicit texts to her? Make it make sense....
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u/BethyHewitt 10h ago
It doesnt make sense that she sent the explicit texts if she was raped. It's disgusting and disturbing.
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u/Lkwtthecatdraggdn 19h ago
What were all of the liquor bottles on the table for (when the police arrived at the home)?
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u/oatmilklavender11222 18h ago
Yeah and considering their financial position.. that's a shit ton of liquor money.
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u/franziadrescher 9h ago
This is wildly speculative, but all that alcohol does make me wonder if her bizarre claim that everyone breaks the law (and specifically mentioning drunk driving) was indicative of her having a substance abuse issue.
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u/sweetiepumpkin04 18h ago
Khloe’s parents really annoyed me. Most of all at the end when they said that really nasty thing about Lauren and Shawn getting away with it and playing the victims? Also I wonder what Owen meant when he said he was mad at Lauryn at some point after they found out it was her mum. Obviously the kid’s been through a lot but I somehow get the feeling she’s being blamed in a way. And of course, F the mum.
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u/LKS983 18h ago
"Also I wonder what Owen meant when he said he was mad at Lauryn at some point after they found out it was her mum."
I wondered about this too, and can only assume that either he was angry at Lauren still supporting her horrendous mother OR he thought Lauren knew it was her mum at some point, before it was revealed?
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u/MilkyMoka 16h ago
Came to this sub exactly for this comment: I found Khloe's parents' comments fucking gross. Also confusing because Khloe herself had commented that this wasn't Lauryn's fault.
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u/Cautious-Farm2799 16h ago
I did volunteer work with abused kids and Lauren seemed very similar to kids I worked with. A they never really blame the abuser and always want to be with them and forgive them. Not the ones who were physically abused but the ones who suffered mental and emotional abuse much like Stockholm Syndrome
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u/Shoddy-Mammoth3774 17h ago edited 5h ago
After that, I knew exactly why Khloe was a suspect and why people thought it could be her. The parents seemed nasty.
It is a complex emotion for Lauren to process. Especially since her mom was so involved in her life. It’s natural that she can’t just abandon her mom. Narcissists have a tight grip on their victims.
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u/NovelDifficulty 8h ago
Khloe was wronged here but you definitely got the impression that she was a bit of a bully, which is why everybody was quick to believe it was her, and the parents seemed like complete enablers idolizing their daughter. I immediately clocked it when Owen said the Halloween party was thrown by one of his best friends Khloe, though she didn’t invite his girlfriend. I thought it was disgusting the way they blamed Mike and Lauryn, who was a literal child abused by her mother.
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u/Leockette 9h ago edited 5h ago
It didn't sit well with me how bitter Khloe's parents were toward the sheriff and Owen's mom for accusing their daughter considering they sounded pretty unapolegetic for doing the same thing to Adrianna. The fact that the dad is a cop makes it even worse. He should have understood that it was normal to investigate those leads. The sheriff had valid reasons to suspect Khloe.
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u/CousinDaeDae 13h ago
Wow came just bc of this comment from those parents and Owen! Why was he mad? Why were those girls parents so awful?
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u/BoostedEagle 4h ago
Just watched and thought the same thing. Came to Reddit to find similar thoughts and didn’t have to look far lol. How can they possibly throw this on Lauryn and her dad. Says a lot about Kholes parents.
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u/wilsonja2 20h ago
I feel like the person interviewing let her off the hook. She literally told her daughter to kill herself
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u/Disastrous-Power-699 18h ago
I don’t understand how more isn’t made about all the sexual shit she sent to minors and how she’s not a sex offender after all this.
Baffling
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u/Interesting-Bet9340 17h ago
THIS! How was none of this considered child pornogorphy - stalking doesn’t begin to cover it appropriately
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u/Cautious-Farm2799 17h ago
ime too and I definitely think she was very jealous of her daughters relationship witth the boyfriend she wanted for herself. very sick woman wonder if court demanded psych evaluation
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u/ManifestationMaven 16h ago
Yeah it was very disturbing. Especially when Owen shared that he sensed her attraction to him before.
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u/Ok-You-5930 20h ago
Exactly!! But I read that she was really difficult to get to interview and they really did not think they were gonna even get to interview her, so I’m thinking maybe they were treading lightly to get the footage. But I totally agree with you!
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u/ahsasahsasahsas 19h ago
Where did you read she was difficult to interview? This doesn’t surprise me that a raging psycho narcissist wanted to control the narrative.
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u/Ok-You-5930 19h ago
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u/MurphyBrown2016 19h ago
Interesting about Kloe. If all my friends thought I was capable of this I would definitely wonder why.
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u/s-b-mac 16h ago
cuz Khloe was definitely one of those mean girl types lol. Doesn’t mean she deserved any of this but yikes her parents seem insufferable so I don’t question why she turned out how she did.
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u/Melodic-Read5010 7h ago
Thank you! Khloe’s mom was so awful
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u/supercantaloupe 6h ago
Yeah Khloe seemed fine, but her parents were insane. Near the end I think it was the mom who claimed the Lauryn and her dad were involved and needed to be punished as well. Lauryn and her dad are victims and their entire lives were torn apart by this whole thing, but all that lady can think of is her own family, even Khloe felt bad for Lauryn.
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u/s-b-mac 16h ago
Uhmmmm did the director watch her own movie??? She literally doesn’t acknowledge that Owen was the motive for Kendra to do what she did, and only talks about Kendra’s past trauma and wanting to “protect” Lauryn. I lowkey hate this director, she sounds so stupid in this article, literally excusing a pedo. wtf.
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u/Interesting-Bet9340 17h ago
There’s a great article in New York magazine that fills in a lot of background about this. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-true-story-of-the-mom-who-cyberbullied-her-daughter/id1708072320?i=1000684157547
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u/LKS983 18h ago
They gave/allowed her the 'rope' to 'hang' herself - and she did.
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u/Q_OANN 15h ago
Yeah, cops gave her a leading question also on the body cam footage and she immediately took it, just like she did with the interviewer saying “maybe you were texting yourself”
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u/Alternative_Sun_8784 15h ago
That part annoyed me so much. Kendra says “Lauryn wasn’t the target” and it looked like she was about to continue to say who was when the director jumped in with that “you were texting yourself” theory, allowing Kendra to take no accountability and play the victim again. The director should have let Kendra finish speaking, and if she didn’t explain what she meant about Lauryn not being the target, then the director should have asked her, but the director was trying really hard to appease her so she would take part (that’s my take as I read Kendra didn’t want to be in it initially and her parts were filmed at the end).
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u/Inevitable-Rich-8903 20h ago
Her mental illness is called jealousy
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u/Royale_with_cheese22 16h ago
The fact that she went after Owen’s NEW gf after him and her daughter were separated just shows how he was her focus all along. I think Owens Mom saud she kept going to his games even after Lauryn and him broke up !! Psychotic
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u/UnderstandingMean655 16h ago
Exactly. Her own story doesn't even add up. Lots and lots of plot holes.
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u/No_Can1912 11h ago
I want to know how she got the new GF’s mums phone number… not to mention the photo inside Owen’s family car!
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u/Inevitable-Rich-8903 9h ago
Exactly, the fact that she went after his new girlfriend shows what it was really about
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u/boringemergency911 18h ago
I said the same thing to myself. Nothing other than being jealous of her own daughter. It was confirmed for me when her cousin said if someone was talking to her, Kendra would start dancing to shift the attention back on herself.
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u/Apriori00 19h ago
The whole thing is child abuse. If it was some creepy guy online and he got caught, he would be charged with a lot more than stalking. He’d be on the sex offender list so I’m really shocked they didn’t acknowledge the sexually abusive nature of the crime.
It was really sad to see the daughter advocating for her mom, but it shows the level of manipulation and control the mom has over her. Also, it was her mother who she still had other good memories with so trying to reconcile all of that must have been a long journey of denial and, now it seems, acceptance/realization.
While I specialize in personality disorders, I am not qualified to give a diagnosis. All I can say is that I’d want to further evaluate the narcissistic traits.
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u/fusion_pb 14h ago
Just in case this isn’t widely known: I too was shocked at the daughter’s responses/feelings towards her mom but I did read that the majority of the interview was conducted in 2023 (all scenes in her bedroom) which was shortly after her mom went to prison; very apparent that the control and manipulation over her still was very strong. However, they did another short interview with her in 2024 (dining room? scene at the end) and she didn’t have quite the same feelings towards her mom anymore. Lauryn appeared to have more control by choosing to distance herself from her mom. It was basically like a 180 degree shift in thought at the end, after we just got done watching 1.5 hours of her advocating for her mom lol
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u/onhoohno 19h ago edited 18h ago
Narcissism, probably some kind of mythomania, histrionic personality disorder, and I’m not actually sure if pedophilia is in the DSM but there’s a sprinkle of that too.
*I am not a therapist.
Also, if it was a guy, he’d be put on a list.
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u/Actual_Conflict_7624 17h ago
Most definitely if roles were reversed, this documentary would have gone a COMPLETELY different way. I’m truly angry as a woman that they didn’t go harder on her and that she was even allowed to share “her version” of it. Like get the fuck out of my screen right now because I’m losing it.
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u/SubstantialTalk480 17h ago
Yes!! She got off way too easy! I can’t even believe this really happened!! Hell I might break the law by speeding but I would absolutely take my own life for even considering doing something like that to one of my babies!! She talks about folks breaking the law like what she did is NOT the most evil thing you can do to your child. Absolutely clueless!!
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u/Actual_Conflict_7624 17h ago
Literally the most diabolical thing you could ever do to your own child. You’re supposed to be your kids protector but she somehow found a sick way to reason her own craziness and believe that they have a strong bond. Idk man. I hope the young girl gets therapy or has been so she can truly see how this is wrong, sick, disturbing etc in soooo many levels. That monster should still be in jail.
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u/Slight_Struggle_9881 18h ago
Thank you, very insightful and I think on point diagnoses!
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u/Cautious-Farm2799 16h ago
I wish the doc would have included an evaluation by a psychiatrist or other professional. I actually knew a mother who was so jealous of her teen daughter she would entice every boy the girl dated and the mom would tell her it was her own fault because she wasn’t pretty enough and the young 15 year old daughter wound up killing herself
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u/should_be_working123 18h ago
What did I just watch?!?
How has the sexually explicit content just brushed over?? That’s the most disgusting of it all.
Poor Lauren and Shawn
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u/Bipu606 17h ago
Owen too.
And his cousin Adriana, and the other girl who was accused.
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u/Sad-Marionberry5317 17h ago
Yes, exactly, the sexual abuse part of this was basically ignored by everyone involved, Including the doc makers. It's terrible!!!
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u/Ghost_jobby 18h ago
Some things that struck me about Kendra:
She reacted very calmly to the news she had been caught. The only time she showed any kind of distress is when she was told the other parents would also be notified about her actions. It made me think she didn't really care about what she'd done or understand the severity of it. She only cared about how she would be perceived by others.
She made this really bizarre argument in her defence by stating that people probably break the law all the time but she just happened to get caught. She gave an example by talking about driving whilst drunk. THAT'S BAD TOO, KENDRA! People don't routinely drive drunk and it isn't some minor little slip up that the average, responsible person would be guilty of. All she did was highlight her own questionable morals and made me wonder what else she got up to in her past.
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u/SpinJoy 17h ago
I found that part so strange as well. Trying to justify stalking, relentlessly torturing and sexually harassing children, let alone your own daughter for nearly 2 years with "well we've all broken the law at some point". It blew my mind.
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u/Ghost_jobby 17h ago
Yeah, it's like she's trying to rationalise what she's done and appear relatable. It's unsettling to watch her try to defend her actions.
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u/WaferFront7006 14h ago
I agree. I don’t understand how she could even have room to talk about “getting caught” drunk driving. Because what she did was way worse. Unless you go drunk driving on purpose to hit your child on purpose and then put the car in reverse on purpose to back over them — on PURPOSE.
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u/geminigal007 19h ago
I stopped watching when the cops were telling Lauren and the husband it was Kendra. I was so disturbed by this.. what she had been saying to her daughter and teen friends for years.. like why? She ruined her daughter’s life. Bullied her daughter, most likely gave her body issues.. so twisted.
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u/bek8228 16h ago
I couldn’t believe the daughter didn’t have a bigger reaction to being told her mom was the perpetrator in that moment. How did she not immediately turn to her mom and start screaming at her and asking her why she did this? She was way too calm about it all.
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u/s-b-mac 16h ago
That daughter’s brain was soup. She’s starting to come to terms with it according to an interview with the director.. but yeah. Her mom really fucked her up.
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u/geminigal007 15h ago
She did a have a reaction. Rewatch the scene. It takes a minute but she ends up bawling her eyes while her mother is hugging her. I can’t believe ppl are saying the daughter was involved. She had nothing to gain and everything to lose.. Owen also said Lauren struggles with showing emotion.
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u/morrisonroyal970 11h ago
She only cried when her dad told Kendra she had to leave the house. It didn’t seem like it was a reaction to what her mom had done, she was crying because her mom had to leave. Seems like massive trauma to me.
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u/tazack 19h ago
Covert narcissism.
Everything she does, says and believes is in the name of self preservation and rooted in her own deep seated low self esteem.
She does not feel remorse. Or see the damage she caused. She only knows how to project the image of that; literally the whole “sorry she got caught”
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u/boringemergency911 18h ago
Yes and those fake tears she had when talking about what she did. I don’t believe she’s truly sorry I think she’s just sorry she got caught and embarrassed.
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u/vailshaye 17h ago
YES! I was looking for this response. Oof and the damage they can do in relationships is all consuming
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u/Mandasiaa 16h ago
- Why did she have access to email while she was in prison for cyber stalking?
AND WAS ABLE TO EMAIL THE PERSON (HER DAUGHTER) SHE WAS CYBER STALKING/BULLYING?!?
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u/TheCaptain3288 19h ago
It’s not fair to blame Lauryn at all. She was a little girl and the messages were cruel. Not only was she bullied by her Mom in her messages during these formative years but she was mentally or even physically abused by her in their real relationship. If her mom taught her to be submissive or loyal etc it actually makes total sense that Lauryn would just sit there. She’s probably disassociating or just processing this terribly shocking news. People don’t drop to their knees and scream at the sky often in real life.
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u/JasonBeNice 19h ago
I think she would’ve eventually hurt her own daughter and framed a suicide for attention.
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u/UBDme 14h ago
Or make it look like an accident if she had life insurance on her to get her out of her financial situation and lies, and definitely for the attention. She is a complete narcissist who is super jealous of her daughter and she will never change.
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u/Ok-Childhood7303 18h ago
Def histrionic by how she wanted to be the constant center on attention. Like why would she go on the documentary?
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u/LKS983 18h ago
"how she wanted to be the constant center on attention. Like why would she go on the documentary?"
👍
I'm guessing that she agreed to be on the documentary because she craved the attention - and thought her 'explanations' (which were actually ridiculous excuses as to how she was a victim......) would come across well.
She was very wrong 🤣!
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u/Sharp-Ad1825 17h ago
I was so confused by Khloe’s mom comment sayinf that Shawn and Lauryn would just leave as playing the victim. Is she talking as if they were faking? Idk I got hater vibes from her towards the girl and the dad
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u/anabeemeow 17h ago
They’re clearly bullies. No wonder their daughter also came out to be like that
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u/roxhop16 17h ago
Yes, they were the most unlikeable victims for sure. Even their daughter who likely was a bully came off much better than her parents did. I don’t believe Lauryn was involved and definitely not her dad.
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u/Shoddy-Mammoth3774 17h ago edited 7h ago
That’s where their daughter got it from. Seems to be a very smug family. They feel better than everyone else.
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u/booniesmacaroonies 18h ago
I am curious as to why Khloe’s parents believe Lauryn and Shawn were involved. I know her(Khloe) father was a police officer- did they have some sort of evidence or was this purely speculation? Maybe it was a change of tone in next ? I’m not sure. Maybe someone else has more insight than me.
Anyway, this documentary made my jaw drop. I initially thought the culprit either had to be Lauryn or Owen based on them being the initial victims.
Ultimately, Kendra is a mentally unstable, disturbed pedo. She should still be locked away…. She is truly a horrifying person.
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u/Cautious-Farm2799 16h ago
since the dad was a cop you would expect him to suspect an adult by some of the texts and start looking to a parent who is very involved with the school. I suspected an adult right away but not a parent I was thinking teacher
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u/Silly-Doughnut4754 12h ago
Me too, exactly that, I thought it must be an adult female, likely a Teacher. What I find nuts is that they never once considered any adults as possible suspects! Kendra having multiple cell phones was pretty weird & part of me wonders if Lauryn might have wondered if her Mom was up to something but didn't want to think that her Mom would do that to her :(
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u/Jrcwalker 6h ago
Because Choles parents are POS. She obviously was a bully and the parents put her on a pedestal and their child could do no wrong. Her dad believes that only his daughter was a victim and no way could Kendras daughter and husband be a victim as well.
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u/gabriella_va 16h ago
One of the things she DEFINITELY has is Münchhausens. She wanted ALL the attention. She WANTED people to think her daughter was being bullied. She WANTED them to have sympathy for what she’s watching her daughter go through. It’s almost like what Gypsy Roses’ mother did, but not as extreme. She’s insane though. She doesn’t even see what she did as a big deal. She also seems like a pedophile. Why would she make those comments about a minor? She’s also very jealous. Let’s be honest, her daughter is a pretty girl; the mother on the other hand… she’s not it. She looks like Quasimodo. She definitely wanted to be like her daughter. To tear her child down to that extent, going as far as to tell her to k!ll herself is DIABOLICAL. She should be spending a lot more time in prison than she got. Her lack of awareness and accountability is alarming. She seems like a danger to society.
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u/cmontano9 18h ago
Just finished this. The mom is batshit crazy and I hope the daughter never talks to her again when she gets into her later years
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u/Tdoresmom 19h ago
Would this possibly be munchausen by proxy?
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u/LKS983 18h ago edited 18h ago
I agree, likely a variation of Munchausen by proxy - made even worse by being jealous of her own daughter/being attracted to Owen.
Additionally, (possibly) thinking this was a good way to be Lauren's 'best friend'/confidant, as Lauren was at the age when children start pulling away from their parents.
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u/Tdoresmom 18h ago
Her obsession with Owen definitely seemed to fall into the pedo territory
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u/Reality_tv_junkie2 19h ago
Yes absolutely I feel like Kendra was causing harm to maintain proximity or control over the victim which is very related to that diagnosis. It’s a very interesting way to go about it without making the child sick physically but more mentally and emotionally. Kendra is sick AF.
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u/cocobellahome 17h ago
It’s PEDOPHILIA sprinkled with narcissism and all the other stuff
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u/cheesyelote 19h ago
Def narcisstic af and also a p*do?? She deserves so much more time than what she got!
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u/Nervous-Joke-1525 18h ago
This doc made me so angry! How could you send that your teenage daughter and tell her to kill herself? 19 months was not long enough for this woman. And the comment about everyone commits crimes but she just got caught makes me think she hasn’t learned anything at all from her prison time.
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u/badonkadonklicious 17h ago
I definitely think she only stopped because she got caught. How far would she have taken it? What if her poor daughter actually hurt herself or any of the other victims? Definitely munchausen by proxy and ASPD. Disgusting how she was obsessed with the boy.
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u/EnthusiasmOne6792 17h ago
The fact that she casually, with a smirk, compares her vile, heinous and quite frankly, pedophiliac crimes to driving under the influence (and please don't get me wrong, DDing is totally NOT okay) but not getting caught made me want to jump through the screen🤬
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u/dandelionmoon12345 18h ago
I'm watching this like....oh you sweet, summer child, when Lauryn talks about loving her mom and having a relationship with her. Like yes, of course you love her, she's your mom!!! But I am seriously worried about her mental health as she gets into her twenties and thirties, having that mom wound is very real and very difficult. ❤️🩹 My heart goes out to her.
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u/what-the-what24 17h ago
This was the most disturbing documentary— hell! the most disturbing movie!!! — I’ve ever seen. The text messages that she sent to her daughter and her boyfriend weee absolutely vile. The fact that she “investigated” this situation with her daughter’s boyfriend’s mother and drew other children and their parents into this situation was abominable! THE FACT THAT SHE KNOWINGLY DID THIS TO HER OWN DAUGHTER (AND TO HER OWN HUSBAND) FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS IS BEYOND MY COMPREHENSION! I just watched this documentary this evening and am still not over it. I audibly gasped when the month was revealed as the one who was behind the bullying and the stalking. Beyond sickening!!!
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u/CakeandEatit-too 16h ago
People have already said most of what I was thinking, comparing her to Gypsy Rose’s mom and Sherri Papini. Tbh, I think this pig is sicker than both of them. This is one of the most vile cases I’ve seen, telling her own teen daughter to kill herself and saying all the sexual stuff, then comforting her at the end of the day. SICK.
There has to be a combination of extreme narcissism and sociopathy. Only a sociopath could do this sick crap and compare it to drunk driving and smirk at the camera (it seemed she was ENJOYING getting to tell her story). The deflection and manipulation is off the chain. Possibly also BPD traits- I would’ve liked to hear more from the father about what their marriage was like. For whatever reason, I’m not buying too much in to a Munchausen diagnosis. There’s also clear pedophilia.
In other words, one of the sickest people I’ve seen. The poor daughter is obviously suffering from denial, trauma, and probably a form of Stockholm syndrome. As others have said, this is going to hit her HARD when she’s older. I truly wish her the best.
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u/dea80 11h ago
The way Netflix glossed over the sexual nature of the messages. To minors. Taking about her daughters flat are and discussing having sx her daughters minor boyfriend. Calling her own daughter anorexic and telling her to k*ll herself.
She’s have NEVER hated anyone more watching a documentary. Zero accountability for her actions. She should be committed. It’s abhorrent.
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u/Sad-Marionberry5317 17h ago
I am so disappointed in this documentary. It allows the mother who was abusing her daughter and her friends to make excuses for the disgusting behavior she exhibited for years!!! I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the footage of the police showing up and allowing her to hug and comfort her daughter even as she confessed. I find myself wondering who this doc is meant to help. It seems to embolden and sympathize with this awful parent. It mostly ignored the devastating impacts on her quiet and completely innocent daughter. The idea from the interviewer that she was "sending these messages to me myself" makes me feel physically ill.
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u/OoCloryoO 13h ago
Not a doctor, but to me it looks like she never grew up and was trapped in a teenage mind And as a teenage girl with insecurities she became jealous of an other teenager who was dating the guy she liked…her daughter Sorry english is far from my first language She s disgusting, manipulative
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u/INSUFFICIENTfnds 6h ago
I can’t believe Lauren still goes to the same school after it was all said and done, I would have moved that poor girl to like Alaska or something.
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u/buffypatrolsbonnaroo 18h ago edited 16h ago
FEMALE FAMILY ANNIHILATOR! We'll never know for sure because luckily she got caught before she completely unraveled.
Hear me out. So I am not a mental health professional by any means; but I am absolutely fascinated by mental and behavioral health so I have a healthy amount of armchair/textbook knowledge but either way take what I say with a lot of grain of salt. I don't feel she had munchausen's; if her daughter HAD taken her life, there goes her way of getting the attention she craved.
I am of course speaking as not a professional. Family annihilators kill their families because they feel they failed to provide and their family would be 'better off dead' that see the head of their family unit as a failure (re: EXTREME avoidance and narcism in order to not face their own guilt and shame at a perceived failing). Females tend to profile/lean more towards less 'messy' ways of violence; like how in general, women are more likely to take their own lives by poison or drowning versus men who are more likely than women to use a gun.
Typically, family annihilators are men but her faking going to work every day even though she had no job, wanting to handle the finances and pretending like everything was hunky dory, and then telling her daughter to kill herself? The FA will go to extreme lengths to keep up their facade, faking that they are succeeding at filling that provider role. Then when they feel the walls closing in, that everyone is about to see all the lies, that is usually when they snap and murder their family (re: their financial issues and her lack of taking care of the finances came to light by losing their home). And THAT is why I think she started telling her daughter to kill herself; she felt the walls closing in. She did not want to see her daughter as the hot mess, failure she had become but as a woman, instead of murdering her daughter, she instead chose to 'keep her hands clean' and instead she urged her daughter to kill herself. So mom gets to keep her hands clean and she would get to avoid her daughter seeing her as the failure of a mom she really is.
EDIT TO ADD: I feel this also explains why she targeted Owen; she wanted to isolate her daughter and saw him as a threat to the facade she had built. Outsiders of family units notice dysfunctional pattern much quicker than someone who was born and raised in that environment to think of it as normal (wadded intergeneration trauma?). So when a parter comes along and pulls at the tangled string of dysfunction by pointing the pattern out, it threatens the false sense of safety people build through avoiding acknowledging the dysfunction, and unhealthy coping mechanisms and toxic traits of the family members participating.
I'm betting dollars to donuts that, while he never would have anticipated anything on this level, Owen started picking up her and her mom had something off and unhealthy about their relationship and commented on it to Laura (like her mom being over involved, overbearing, etc). And THAT'S why she went after him- he threatened her house of cards AND stood a chance at driving a wedge between her and her daughter by helping her daughter realize how toxic her mom was. And no access to her daughter = failure as a provider + not able to try and unhealthily cope with her feeling of being a failure by having access to her daughter's successes that she weirdly tried to take credit for and attach herself to.
Just my own opinion of course; I'm glad she got caught when she did. Sadly I feel it was only a matter of time before she unraveled further and escalated from lashing out mentally and emotionally to physically.
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u/Its_just_me_today 16h ago
Wow, great answer and really made me think. I’ve been caught up in the horrible texting without looking at the whole picture. Kendra had some other HUGE lies going on as well that she was trying to keep hidden.
What you wrote reminds me of two cases I’ve read about of a child killing their parents because they lied about being in college when they had dropped out or been kicked out of school. Both times, when they couldn’t keep their web of lies going and they were about to be exposed, they killed their parents instead of telling the truth.
I do believe she could have become a female family annihilator. I could truly see her kill her husband and daughter rather than have all her lies be exposed. Especially after watching her avoid any responsibility for her actions. It’s the classic narcissistic deflection of blame. Narcissists will do almost anything to avoid feeling shame. I could see Kendra at some point being backed into a corner and believing that killing her family would be the better option than coming clean. I mean, the motive is right there, isn’t it? Someone was harassing her family and it escalated into someone killing them. I could totally see her trying to use that reasoning.
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u/Treefrog54321 16h ago
Sadly watched a documentary and people with munchausen by proxy do sometimes kill their child or the person they are making sick to get attention. It’s the ultimate attention and they can also move into another child, elderly parent, vulnerable adult or even a pet! Again only doing it from my armchair but it could be a possibility or one of many things wrong with her!
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u/Signal-Fix1997 19h ago
Just finished watching with the hubby - all we could think about was how HORRIBLE this lady is!! Completely skipped over how she was talking about the worst sexual things having to do with Owen, and if she was so much about "family" then why did she not even protect her own daughter and LIED to her husband?! Horrible.. I agree with those that said the person interviewing was way too nice to her. I just don't understand how you can play the victim mentality when you've done so much that is so so incriminating and only gets bare minimum prison time!?
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u/Muted-Length9828 18h ago
I just finished watching it.. what in the actual $&!? I’m mind blown. So Twisted. I feel so sorry for Lauryn, her dad, Owen and his parents - absolutely insane. I was utterly shocked it was Kendra the entire time. My jaw was on the floor!!!!!
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u/Leo25333 17h ago
Kendra will target more people. You could tell when she was addressing the judge that she has no remorse or accountability. All Kendra did was deflect the issues and make it seem like it was someone else's fault. She even tried to lie and say that someone else started it when we know that was a LIE.
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u/Little-Let9151 17h ago
I am watching this right now & picked up my phone so quickly. Is this even real?!?! This woman like doesn’t even think she did anything wrong. I am beyond upset at the director. Like. They ask questions that include potential reasons for this psychopath to latch onto. Jeisjnabdbdjsksnsjddb WHAT IS HAPPENING OMG I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DUMBFOUNDED EVER IN LIFE
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u/No-Pie2798 17h ago
This documentary got me SHOCKED like what the hell?!! Who’ in the right mind does that to his own daughter I mean, the nasty sexual words and tell long her own daughter to kill herself and how bad she treated her, I mean she even physically looks crazy that matches but I mean like wow, and her daughter still wanted to have a relationship with her? What’s her mental illness to even pretend to go to work? And lie to his own husband for years? Poor man I feel so bad for the dad how he lost everything and worked so hard while they were struggling financially!!
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u/Frowawayacct88 16h ago
She saw her daughter entering into a healthy innocent relationship and decided to break her down in every way, even going as far as telling her to kill herself. She was jealous of her relationship and was a predator. If she didn’t want anyone to hurt her daughter, she would have comments in regards to ending the relationship, but the level of sexual commentary is insane! I think she has histrionic personality disorder, based off what her cousin said “if you were talking to me here, she’d be on a table over there dancing getting your attention”. I had a friend like this and she cut up my clothes after a vacation and blamed it on the washer. I hope she’s investigated further on explicit child sexual marital.
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u/Orion_Kryptnt 15h ago edited 15h ago
There are so many questions. I almost quit watching 5 minutes in with all the vocal fry in most every interview.
1) First, I’m going to say it, there is a failure in parenting in several aspects (other than the obvious being Kendra). The parents involved all seemed to get sucked into the drama, blaming other children, etc. (Khloe’s parents threw that Adriana girl under the bus - poor kid).
I will withhold my opinion on children needing smartphones, that being said, IF you’re giving your 13 year old a smart phone and they are receiving obsessive and horrific text messages to the point that you worry your child is suicidal, you shut-that-shit-down. Owen’s mother didn’t even want to change his phone number! She would rather feed into the game by playing detective. I realize that may not have been fair to Owen, but if you’re scared for the wellbeing of your kid, ditch the phone for a bit, change the number, take other basic precautions. Maybe Kendra would have gotten his new number anyway, but in the vast majority of these situations, it’s not going to be the psychotic parent in your close circle.
2) The guy in the blue suit, I don’t remember his role (some school administrator?), but he was insufferable. He loved hearing himself talk.
3) How did Kendra obtain the photo of the black phone case from Christmas? Was that ever explained? Did I miss it?
4) Why did production fail to ask Kendra about her continued harassment with Owen’s new gf and mother. There wasn’t much focus placed on her weird obsession with Owen.
5) How did Kendra know about conversations that were happening in real time at the school (unless Lauryn was in on it perhaps?)
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u/WzrdKelly10 12h ago
What a sick fucking lady. To not only bully teenagers but to bully your own daughter is sickening. To tell your own child to kill her self in the most vulnerable time in her life.
The vileness of some of those messages sexually was disgusting. My theory is she definitely developed a crush on Owen and in her twisted mind she looked at her daughter as the “other woman” in the way. She basically got off on being in a teenage love triangle as an adult.
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u/Fernily 3h ago
I def think Khloe started it but stopped, and then Kendra started it up because she saw how it drew her daughter closer to her and broke her and Owen up when it was going on, so she wanted to make sure they didn’t get back together and that Lauryn needed her more.
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u/Ronin-Hood 3h ago
Something seemed off about her daughter, i am pretty sure i am not the only who noticed who noticed this, but upon hearing from the Cops that it was her mother that was sending the message, she didn't.....react ? or she reacted as if she knew ?
Her mom went on to hold her in her arms, and she didn't reject her at all, or second guessed it, could it be possible that they did this together ? And the mom accepted to take the fall for it in order to protect her daughter ?
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u/Fat_Cat_1973 2h ago
I think it was shock, and the police kinda tip-toed around what they were saying while the daughter was in the room. I just dont think she could process all of what she was hearing, but I don't think she knew it was her mom the whole time.
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u/PhotographOdd7120 19h ago
The fact that Lauren’s own mother did that is sickening. Sexually explicit comments about herself and her daughter, telling her to go kill herself, even the part where she was talking about how everyone must have done something illegal in their life. No remorse for what she did. I do think that Khole started it in the beginning just to be a bully, but Kendra’s reasoning to start cyber bullying her own daughter makes no sense.
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u/sweetiepumpkin04 18h ago
The first time Lauryn received these messages was the day of Khloe’s party right? It’s quite a coïncidence, I wonder whether there might have been a chance Khloe’s actually DID start it but Kendra picked it up months later.
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u/dandelionmoon12345 18h ago
Yeah I just finished this and feel absolutely gutted. I'm so saddened for Lauryn. 😓
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u/lontbeysboolink 18h ago
I just watched this today. Mind blown! Why?To her own daughter?And to lie about her jobs, mortgage, storage sheds on top of everything! I don't know if there's a diagnosis to this. Just flat out crazy!
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u/Slow_Yak_3390 17h ago
This was very strange and that lady is sick. I can’t believe they let her near her daughter. She was horny for the boy.
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u/Gloomy_Basis_1732 17h ago
The fact she only got a year in a half is insane. If I was her kid and my mom did that to me, I’d never talk to her again. What an absolute psychopath
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u/Leo25333 17h ago
Kendra should have gotten way more than 2 years in jail. She is an evil manipulative, controlling narcissist... She is beyond help. Her spots will NOT change.
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u/RuinHuman9654 17h ago
i just geniunely don’t understand why a mom would say such things to her own daughter it’s geniunely sickening. i don’t think anything that was going on in her life excused her actions. :/
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u/Shoddy-Mammoth3774 17h ago
Pedophilia is what it is. This documentary started so normal and now I need to induce amnesia to forget this woman. I feel bad for her daughter. Still pulled into her orbit.
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u/ChampionshipSad1586 15h ago
Outside of Dont Fuck with Cats, this is the craziest doc (and I watch them all). This woman practically drove an entire town mad or worse. These poor children. As if this time of life isn’t challenging enough. I am weirded out by the dad and the daughter’s reaction on the police bodycam. Most teens would have FLIPPED. Does not all add up for me.
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u/Q_OANN 15h ago
What was up with that one lady saying “Shawn and Lauryn are playing the victim”? I paused it to try and wrap my head around where it could go, only thing would be in last couple minutes they shared they were in on it,and I only thought that because that’s all it could mean. Then nothing comes of it. Like, yeah, they are two of the victims. That was wild unless I somehow misunderstood her
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u/Ok-Gate8892 13h ago
As a health care provider if I had to guess ... she's a pedophile with histrionics disorder. She likely has severe abandonment issues and is jealous of her own daughter sadly.
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u/Affectionate_Peak717 11h ago edited 3h ago
Sounds a lot like a malignant narcissist. Living vicariously through her daughter who is also her source of narcissistic supply. When Owen and Lauryn got so close, Kendra probably saw that as a threat that would take away her source of narcissistic supply. The love bombing in the texts while she was in jail was her not wanting to lose her source. I hope Lauryn doesn't get sucked back in by her mom, because then it could go on forever. Here is an excerpt from Google about why a malignant narcissist may verbally abuse their golden child..."A malignant narcissist says cruel things to their golden child for several reasons related to their need for control, emotional supply, and the maintenance of a fabricated image. Though the golden child is typically showered with praise, this approval is conditional, and the child's purpose is to reflect well on the parent. When the golden child shows signs of independence or fails to meet the parent's exacting standards, the narcissist sees this as a threat and responds with verbal abuse to regain dominance. " Also, I think Kendra was probably made fun of for being thin when she was young(her and Lauryn seemed to both have the same body type and at one point Kendra made a comment about herself being thin in a sort of negative tone), so she knew how that felt and hurt. She knew it would hurt Lauryn the same and would certainly bring her down to seek comfort from her mom. It's like everything she did was vicariously through Lauryn (whether through pressure to win in sports or making her feel what she felt when she was her age). Omg and I just had this thought, she had been let go from those jobs and all this the same time Lauryn and Owen were getting closer. She probably was spiraling and desperately needed something to intervene to bring Lauryn down to maintain power and control over something, which also was her biggest source of narcissistic supply.
I also think when a narcissist is about to be exposed (their mask falls off) like when she lost the jobs and all the financial troubles that followed. She had to shift the focus to a bigger problem, and one that she was not the focus of...which she can then blame all the problems they are having on and play the victim again. I am not an expert but from the research I've done on narcissism, this is what it looked like to me. So, the narcissist is extremely jealous of the golden child if they seem to be doing better than the narcissist? That's what it seems like.
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u/Splotsmum 9h ago
Just watched it. There is not one single speck of real remorse there. The daughter didn’t seem to understand that it was her own mother, and the sexually explicit adult language that mother used in the messages she sent to MINORS was utterly sickening. Childhood trauma does NOT lead to this kind of behaviour and does NOT excuse any of it. IMO she’s just a paedophile who was jealous of her own daughter. Revolting woman. She got off extremely lightly and I’d advise Lauryn to run very fast very very far away from her.
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u/ffflyin 9h ago
Also by the way Khloe’s parents seem truly horrid. I just can’t believe how they are adults and yet this is how they speak of this ordeal and about how “Jill invited this” to Khloe. It’s a nonsense.
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u/marlynar 7h ago
That woman is not to be trusted by anyone…
I personally think she has lied her whole life and got through …
Same with the police officer coming in her house telling her all the evidence lead to her phone number and she looks the police in the eyes and still try to get through and saying „what? That cant be“ „no way“ and than three seconds later commiting to it…
Also poor boyfriend/husband how he must feel moving to different homes 4 times in 2 years or sonething like that .. get into financial problems cause of it.. bills not being payd by the wife even so she told him she is doing it.. lying to him for 2 years going to work everyday..
He must felt so betrayed and angry towards her .. he works his a** off to find out that she lied to him all the months years .. not working at all .. and her writing those horrible messages to their own daughter…
Even though the daughter wants contact again with her after being released from prison I as a father wouldnt allow it .. this woman is poison and manipulative and a red flag to everyone around here…
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u/Pale-Requirement7082 5h ago
She told her own daughter to kill herself. That alone is unforgivable. This woman is absolutely disgusting.
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u/Worldly_Green200 4h ago
I thought it was very telling towards the end when the police had confronted her and the husband came home and told her to leave. Kendra refused and put her arms round Lauren and pulled her towards her and held her in a vice like grip. she was controlling Lauren even then, trying to anyway. I feel so sorry for that girl, saying she still wants a relationship with her mum. I hope one day she realises what a damaging narcissist and psychopath her mother is and breaks free.
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u/SehHawthorn 3h ago
IM FINISHING WATCHING RIGHT NOW AND IM FUMING!!!!!!!! I just want everyone to use the correct language (producers included) and to say to Kenras face “you emotionally, verbally and mentally abused your daughter for 2 years” ITS INSANE HOW SHE IS TRYING TO FRAME IT AND ACT LIKE ITS NOT A BIG DEAL!!!!!!!!!!
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u/NotStuPedasso 20h ago
Someone else on a different post mentioned that perhaps the daughter did start it and confessed and that the family chose to have the mom step in and perpetuate the harassment so that the daughter wouldn't get in trouble and that they could establish her IP addresses as the culprit but who knows. The fact that the daughter just seemed so normal when the cops were there with the body cam seemed suspect. And then that strange comment at the very end from Khloe's parents that they said the whole family was in on it.
What I will say is that Khloe and her friends were real bullies and trying to come off like they weren't mean girls was annoying and Khloe's parents were not only enabling their kids bullying behavior, but they themselves seem like bullies too.
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u/BestBodybuilder7329 20h ago
I whole heartedly agree about Khole and her parents. At one point they said the reason their kid gets accused of being bully is because the other kids are jealous of her. Okay. I absolutely believe that she was throwing carrots at that girl. I find it amusing that they were so upset that she was falsely accused, but were so proud to blindly do the same thing.
I would be absolutely shocked if Dad was involved because he immediately outed Kendra’s second phone.
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u/Longjumping-War4753 20h ago
I don't buy that for a second that Lauren started it... Something is seriously wrong with the mom... You can tell.... Also the daughter was picking her toenails in the interview with mom and cops, that's not normal...
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u/oscooter 16h ago
Yeah that kid is disassociating in that footage. Shes doing anything to remove herself mentally from the situation. Anyone who looks at that and sees someone who is behaving normally is wild.
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u/Apriori00 19h ago
Agreed about Khloe because I don’t think it was a “made up” rumor about bullying that girl, but of course she shouldn’t have been implicated in a crime.
As far as the daughter’s reaction, I saw a lot of denial and trying to desperately reconcile her mom’s double life. That may look like having “no emotion,” but I saw a lot of trauma and numbing in there. The fact that, at the end, she hadn’t had contact with her mother for a year and a half shows that she’s working hard to process the trauma and move forward. She’s accepting the truth.
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u/wickity_whack 18h ago
Lots of people cling to their abusive parents and still just want their love. It’s such a sad situation.
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u/oscooter 16h ago
She’s 100% disassociating when she heard it was her mom on that body cam footage.
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u/Ok-You-5930 20h ago
Idk if Lauren was involved. It wasn’t just a computer IP address, it was an entire web of deceit and obsession and psychosis and manipulation and lies.
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u/Betterthangoldd 18h ago
This lady is 100% disgusting. If this was a man doing this I don't think they would be handled with kitten gloves. Her excuses made no sense, how is harassing another mother in a different town supposed to help your daughter? Pure sicko
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u/No_Giraffe_4144 17h ago
A minor question but how did she get a photo of the black phone case at Owen’s family house? So many questions? Also, why was she fired twice?
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u/mmbenney 16h ago
In they documentary they called cyber munchausen by proxy as in an attempt to keep her daughter totally dependent on her even at the expense if hurting her. However, I’m not sure that was an actual diagnosis, just a possibility.
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u/Illustrious_Fact_728 15h ago
I think she’s definitely a narcissist. My own mother is a narcissist and this was a hard watch for me because of the parallels I saw between Kendra and my mom, and Lauryn to my younger self. To a far lesser extent, my mom also manipulated me into forming an unhealthy dependence on her for my own self confidence, she manipulated relationships I had with friends and boyfriends, pointed out (and created) all of my insecurities, publicly belittled me, etc etc. I can recognize all of these things now after years of therapy and it breaks my heart seeing Lauryn still stuck under Kendra’s control. I’m happy to share about my interpretation of some of Kendra’s behaviors if anyone is interested, although I’m no expert I have been through a lot of therapy and read an excessive number of books about narcissistic abuse lol.
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u/Longjumping-War4753 20h ago
Kendra is a psycho B ... Lauren can't trust her ever. She was harassing her own daughter for 2 years repeatedly telling her own daughter to kill herself ... Fcking sickening.