Need to know
- Jill and Dave McKenny's lives are turned upside down
- Jill and Lauryn's mom Kendra Licari investigated the case, but later revealed Kendra is sending a message
- Jill, Dave and Owen all talked about their experiences in the Netflix documentary, Unknown: High School Cat Fish
Jill and Dave McKenny lived a typical life, raising their children, Owen and Macy, and the torture of their lives changed.
Owen, who was only 13 years old, began receiving cruel text messages from anonymous numbers in October 2020 with his then-girlfriend Lauryn Licari. Despite the disruption, they recovered again in September 2021 and became more aggressive.
After reading a few messages, both Jill and Dave decided to get involved and try to figure out who is behind the threatening text. Jill also worked with Lauryn's mom Kendra Licari to investigate the situation, and the two quickly became close friends while trying to reach the bottom of the news.
But after family and school authorities contacted the FBI to help with the case, McKennis and Laurin learned of the devastating fact that Kendra had been a vicious text message. She was arrested in December 2022 and later pleaded guilty to two stalking charges and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison Upnorthlive.
Jill, Dave and Owen all talk about their experiences in the 2025 Netflix documentary Unknown: High School Cat Fishwhich one Release on August 29.
“For me, there was enough time for two and a half years to stop doing her job and she chose to keep doing it,” Jill said in Kendra's 2023 sentencing. “At that time, my empathy fell. She saw the damage she caused and kept on.”
So, where are Owen McKenny's parents? It's everything about Jill and Dave McKenny and how their son's lives have changed after being cyberbullied.
Jill and Dave McKenny are Irving McKenny's parents
Jill McKenny in “Unknown: High School Cat Fish”.
Netflix
Irving was raised by Jill and Dave McKenny in a close-knit community in Bill, Michigan. The couple had a bunch of friends but approached Kendra and Shawn after Owen started dating seventh-grade daughter Lauryn.
When Lauryn and Owen started dating, both parents recognized each other's children and enjoyed playing sports games together, then tied around the bonfire.
Jill and Dave McKenny's son, Irving McKenny
Lauryn and Owen in “Unknown: High School Cat Fish”.
Provided by Netflix
Jill and Dave's lives were turned upside down for nearly two years when Owen and Lauryn began to be tied to a crowd of unknowns in October 2020. Lauryn and Owen were only 13 years old when they received the first radical message to blame their relationship.
Although the news was temporarily suspended, they were received as a quantity and hostile capacity around September 2021. Children receive texts 40 to 50 times a day. The news is vulgar, including clear sexual advances to Irving, physical insults to Laurin and specific details that only close people can know.
Jill and Dave were involved almost immediately and picked up Owen's phone at night to read all the messages and try to figure out who was sending them. Jill also worked with Kendra to read the text her daughter was receiving and learn what they could do with the message.
Even after Lauryn and Owen broke up, they still received messages of their aggression against Lauryn. Several of their classmates were called potential suspects throughout the investigation.
Jill and Dave McKenny try to solve their son's case in vain
Kendra Licari's Mugshot.
Michigan Department of Corrections
Jill and Dave have worked with Lauryn's parents, Beal City High School, and police officers in the past two years to figure out who is in Owen and Lauryn. Jill is getting closer and closer to Kendra, hoping they can rest assured to figure out who is harassing the child.
In the documentary Unknown numbers: high school cat fish, Jill explained that they gathered most of the nights to review the text and thought “support” was the duo. Jill also closely monitored her son because she was worried something might happen to Irving due to threatening information.
Although Jill worked closely with local authorities and high schools, all parties were working hard to find the perpetrators because the text came from random numbers generated by the application.
Nearly two years later, local police contacted the FBI and Jill handed over Irving's phone number. They also gave them all the phone numbers for everyone they knew, and the FBI eventually found the IP address of the person who sent the message, which brought them to Kendra.
Jill explained in the documentary that she initially did not believe in the FBI and firmly believed that Kendra could not do it with her and their children.
However, after authorities approached Kendra in August 2022, she admitted cyberstalking. She was arrested and charged with two counts of stalking a minor and two counts of committing another crime. She pleaded guilty to the stalking charges and was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison in April 2023.
Kendra was released on parole on August 8, 2024. Unknown: High school catfish.
Jill McKenny
Kendra Licari in “Unknown: High School Cat Fish”.
Provided by Netflix
After Kendra sent out evil words from Lauryn and Owen, Jill explained that she felt she was betrayed by her close friends.
“I can never get that feeling from me. It's just the disgust and betrayal of that woman we allow to enter our lives, the house and the kids' lives, and you just can't imagine what that would be like.”
The two's mother has been unable to face Kendra's verdict since the time of arrest, so Jill talked to her for the first time when she shared her victim impact statement in April 2023.
“I will never forget the day we found out that day that overcome my illness,” she said in court. “Injury, anger, betrayal, sadness all attacked me immediately. I've been waiting for a few years, and that day you can look at me in my eyes and tell me, 'Why is it worth it?'
Jill later reflected on the Netflix documentary and said he ended up in the face to face with her and “asked her” why “she felt good to send messages” even though she felt she would “never have a real reason.”
Jill McKenny initially thought Khloe Wilson was the perpetrator
Khloe Wilson in “Unknown: High School Cat Fish”.
Provided by Netflix
During years-long investigations, police, high school, McKennis and Licaris looked at some people who might be sending harassment messages. Among the suspects are Irving and Laurin’s classmate Khloe Wilson.
After some details of the information seemed to suggest her, the families began to doubt Khloe. Lauryn and Khloe did not get along with each other in order to increase the fuel of the fire, and the latter had a close friendship with Owen.
After Jill and Kendra raised suspicions about police and high school, officials brought Khloe into the inquiry, and she denied any involvement. However, Jill still firmly believes that Khloe is behind the message, and she allegedly sent a message to Owen to ask why she is behind the text. Khlo later submitted his cell phone to the police, who reviewed the police and regarded it as a suspect.
“I do feel guided about Khlo-blaming her or her family,” Jill said in the documentary. “At that time we just drew our goals from whatever information we had.”
Khloe appears in the documentary with her parents, Craig and Tami Wilson, who admit they are still upset that Jill is “inviting” to Jill in ordeal.
“Croul missed an entire god–a year should be the best memory of her life,” Craig said in the documentary.[It was] People pointed at her fingers for a whole year [and] Baked by her parents. ”
Where are Jill and Dave McKenny now?
Dave McKenny in “Unknown: High School Cat Fish”.
Provided by Netflix
Jill and Dave continue to live in Michigan with their daughter Macy. Both parents often share on Facebook that the family participates in sports games together, spends holidays and takes vacations together.
Owen continues to study at Bill City High School before graduating in May 2025 and is committed to playing baseball at Hope Academy in Michigan.
Meanwhile, he hasn't spoken to Lauryn since his arrest, and Jill and Dave seem to be in touch with Licaris. Regarding Jill's opinion that Kendra sent a positive message to Owen and Lauryn, she suggested that Kendra “obsessed” with Owen.
“I think she's obsessed with Irving, it's hard to be a mom, and she's an adult woman, but I think she wants to have a degree of relationship with Irving, obviously unacceptable at her age,” Jill said in the documentary.
Mom added: “If you look at how she treats him and how she honors him, she will do everything she can to do for him or just be noticed by him. She will text him randomly and try to keep in touch with him. She even participated in all his sports events after Lauryn and him.