Unknown number Netflix 🤯 *[CONTAINS SPOILERS]

[LondonElle]

No spoilers but this documentary is out there as one of the most disturbing I have seen in a long time, the manipulation, the death threats, the abhorrent sexual messages. Has anyone else seen this? Worth a watch I think.

• UPDATE: We've edited the title, as requested, to reflect that there may now be spoilers on this thread

How would Lauryn even process all those awful body shaming messages and telling her to die from her own mother?
Your mum is the one person who is supposed to have your back no matter what.

It’s definitely some kind of Munchausen.

I remember a ‘mom kills cheerleader’ story back in the 80s or 90s. Mom kills popular cheerleader who’s outshining her kid. As horrific as this was, it more ‘natural’ than the shit Kendra did. She was actively working against her child.

The documentary didn’t discuss how she got the number of the new girl in the new county? That had literally nothing to do with Lauryn. How did she get that info? why did she get it? This is so predatory and confirms that her obsession might have been with Owen. It’s like she was jealous of Lauryn’s relationship with him?!

I think she must of been the messages were very explicit
Owen and Lauryn were only young teens I doubt their relationship went further thsn a bit of kissing,and kendra played on that saying owen wanted more from her ,I don't want to think about it it makes me feel sick.

I recently read an article that said she questioned Owen’s mother about his love life and new girlfriend she worked in IT so may have had enough information there to get the girls number/ info.

@x2boys the dad’s reaction of threatening the mum’s safety when he found out under the guise of “before I do something I’ll regret” - was so sinister, especially when you watch the daughter’s reaction to that whole scene. It didn’t seem to be the first time she’d seen her parents behave in that way. The whole thing is so fucked up, mum off in a dangerous fantasy world, dad so disengaged he didn’t notice his wife was unemployed for a YEAR and the daughter doing everything she can to hold the whole shitshow together by being the perfect child. I feel so sad for her.

Oh I did wonder. When she was sitting on her pink bed saying she needed her mother in her life and she loved her more than anything then later saying she thought it would be very difficult to see her mum again I was a bit confused. It was interesting saying how close she’d become to her Dad so I got the impression maybe that the mother was very overbearing and possessive of the daughter and didn’t let him have a look in. Apparently she seemed to be very involved with the school which generally can be a good thing but is also a way to keep an eye on your child. I also thinks that probably plays into part of why she did what she did. She wanted to keep control of Lauryn and keep her dependent on her by causing this awful trauma in Lauryn’s life and being the shoulder cry on. I also agree with it also being a type of Munchausen’s by proxy where she managed to be part of a drama and keep attention on her.

There was definitely a strange dynamic in that family. The complete lack of emotion by Lauryn when told it was her mother who’d been sending the vile messages was really odd. The bizarre reaction of her Mum who couldn’t understand why she was being told to leave by the husband. Her saying she needed to be with her daughter despite being her abuser. He was the only one showing any real devastation in the moment. I know some posters have assumed some previous DV but I think finding out your spouse had being lying to you for over a year (re the jobs) and was the one abusing your daughter would push anyone over the edge. I also think if there had been DV in the relationship the mother would have thrown it in as another excuse for doing what she did. She tried to throw in every excuse under the sun as it went on so I don’t think she’d have missed an opportunity to throw in a bit of DV. She really annoyed me when she kept saying it was ‘just a mistake’. A mistake is going left when you meant to go right not sending thousands of abusive messages to your daughter over an 18 month period.

I know what you mean but imagine finding out your partner had behaved in such an abhorrent way i think he was right to send her to her parents ,he didn't trust himself not to be violent so i think it was sensible ,I did wander though how she covered up not having wages though ,did they have savings or credit cards, it wouldn't be easy to cover up for most people.

@UneFoisAuChalet

Even the most abusive of mothers that we either known in RL or seen on television wouldn’t drag through the consistent and persistent abuse of their child. Lauryn was a 13 year old child. Not an adult who she might have felt she was in competition with, a bloody child.

Exactly. This wasn't just some narcissistic selfish mother, she is a psychopath. I pray that Lauryn is giving this woman a wide berth now, (as a pp said,) and is erasing her from her life. I also agree with a pp that (the mother) was treated far too sympathetically by the programme maker.

I have not seen many things on TV that have disgusted and enraged me so much. Not least the way the 'mother' was treated like she had just subjected her daughter to silent calls. She was aggressive and abusive, and wished death on her, and told to kill herself, she didn't deserve to live, and she was ugly as fuck, and her boyfriend hated her. Why was her behaviour minimised? I can't get my head around it all.

And the way she acted like the victim just sickened me. 'Oh woe is me... wah wah wah. I just couldn't help myself, I was like a different person.' 😢Bollocks. She knew what she was doing. It was calculated and vile and sinister and pure evil, and she should have got 10 years for it. And how on EARTH did she hide the fact she had been unemployed for a YEAR, from her husband?!

.

Kendra clearly has narcissistic personality disorder. She has no empathy, takes no accountability, her sister said she is an attention seeker. She has one child and has made that one child both the golden child and the scapegoat in her narcissistic delusions. The father clearly only realised how bad things were when told she had no job, I am sure he is well aware shes a toxic human being over the years and has been in his own way manipulated but I do find it strange at best that he never once not one time suspected her. Kendra believes her own lies like all narcissists do. They create a false narrative and just say to themselves this a few times and that is it, it is like planting a false history in their own heads. She is a very unhealthy person and got far too lenient a sentence considering how many lives she has affected, how many kids trust she has fucked up for life and for fucking up the life of the daughter she hated had started to upstage her.

I think finding out your spouse had being lying to you for over a year (re the jobs) and was the one abusing your daughter would push anyone over the edge.

absolutely. I’m not a violent person but I would want to batter dh if he did something like that to dd.

She faked at least one insurance claim and as she is definitely a personal of very low moral character I can imagine she wasn’t above committing more acts of fraud. Still it’s a long time to have no regular fixed income 🤷‍♀️

I think it's unfair to blame the husband unless we have prior knowledge?
He's the one whose had to keep it all together
Hea also the one who lauryn lives with

Agreed

Wow just finished watching. It's one of the most gross, messed up things I've ever watched. That poor girl. The only positive thing is that it looks like she's doing really well now. All the very best of luck to her.

Khloe’s parents were bully apologists, who complained about having the finger pointed at their precious “can do no wrong” child, but themselves pointed the finger at Adrianna, a child their daughter bullied. And then proceeded to blame Lauryn, an abused child victim, for her mother’s actions. Their opinions hold zero weight as far as I’m concerned. They did not come across as good people. There was a lot of minimisation of the very obvious bullying going on at that school throughout the programme mentioned by multiple people and the school seemed to be completely ineffective at dealing with any of it.

I don’t think the policeman was clear at all when he told her. I’m not sure she understood completely. And if she did understand, I suspect that she was in shock - her and her mum were extremely close, her mum was the one she ran to for support when she was struggling. It would be very difficult to reconcile that in your mind that the person you love and care about the most, your trusted confidante and cheerleader, was also the person that had been sending you vile, sexual, messages telling you to kill yourself, for years. I’m not surprised she didn’t react, it would be so hard to process and make those two contradictory “people” make sense. Anyone would be completely overwhelmed and not be able to make sense of it.

That's fair enough but when we look at the facts their daughter wad blamed for a lot when it waa actually kendra trying to deflect the blame I don't actually blame for being bitter .

I’m referring to the multiple previous accusations of bullying from multiple people that the school mentioned, that her parents blamed the victims and their parents for, and Adrianna described the three girls as if they were a tight clique that were not nice to anyone outside their group. Even her “best friend” Owen described her as “not very nice” to others even if he didn’t want to say the b word. I thought it was very clear what she and her parents were about.

The sexual things the perpetrator was texting though? And then contacting the new girlfriends mother to warn her daughter off. Owen was what, 14 at the time? I feel sick.

That’s entirely possible. I agree about the Policeman not being. I was just waiting for the Policeman to say ‘it’s your mother who’s been sending the messages’ and he never did although I wondered if something had been cut out in the edit because he was being so obtuse. By the same token I was also waiting for Lauryn to say ‘what are you saying?’ Or asking for some clarification but she was completely and utterly emotionless almost like a sulky teen who’d been dragged away from their phone to sit in the kitchen against their will. Whatever the reason it was really odd.

I thought she looked like a cornered deer. That’s what I meant that there were hints of real problems in that household. I wouldn’t be surprised if her mum was often the cause of disasters and the only acceptable way to deal with these revelations was no reaction at all.

I enjoyed it! Alas, right before watching I happened to see a Daily Mail article which basically revealed the plot in the headline. Serves me right for looking at the DM!

Still very watchable and shocking though.

Yes, dad was a bit off but come on, did you see those messages?? I would literally struggle not to twat her there and then. I can also believe he did not know she was not working, no one seemed to have known. The only think I'm a bit confused about is the money - surely he would have noticed there was no income?

I'm still reeling at Kendra minimising what she's done. I think there are no excuses for it - she is not ill, she is simply deranged and nasty. She was jealous of her daughter and infatuated with Owen, and was bored as she had nothing to do and had no life.

I do feel sorry for the girl but it looks like she is already damaged - wanting to have anything to do with her mum after what she's done is not normal. I'm also surprised Kendra was allowed contact with Lauryn.

I disagree, I think wanting your mother's love and approval is the most natural thing on earth.

I'd be interested to know why Kendra was "let go" from both her jobs.

And interested to know why Owen has turned against Lauryn, saying he was mad at her, and not even acknowledging her now. Why is he taking it out on her, as she was as much a victim as he was?

When they said that conversations that took place in school were being referenced in the messages, I thought it was going to be a teacher or someone on the school staff that was responsible. I was really shocked when it turned out to be Kendra.

It was a shocking programme to watch, knowing that a mother could send such vile messages.