WARNING: Distressing content.
The Sydney gamer arrested after allegedly assaulting his pregnant partner during a live stream while their two young children screamed and cried says it “won’t happen again”.
Luke Munday, 26, was arrested just before midnight on Sunday, about three hours after he could be heard on his broadcast allegedly getting into a violent fight with his 21-year-old pregnant partner.
He has since been charged with common assault and will face court on Thursday.
But on Tuesday he told reporters what really happened would come out in court.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the attack, Mr Munday refused to get out of bed when his grandparents let reporters into the house to try and talk to him.
The Telstra engineer, who has been suspended from his role pending an investigation, said he had not watched the footage where he can be heard screaming at his partner to “f**k off” and telling her he will be “out soon” after playing popular online game Fortnite for hours.
“There’s no point in seeing the video, I know what happened,” he told The Daily Telegraph and 7 News Sydney.
“And what happened is not what everyone assumes has happened.
“You’re all judging the video, you don’t see what happens, you haven’t read the police report, you don’t actually know what happened off camera.
“Everyone thinks I kicked the sh** out of her which clearly isn’t the case.
“If that happened, I wouldn’t be charged with common assault, would I? Common assault means no injury.”
When asked he was a “woman basher” he replied, “No”.
“She knows that. It’s a one-off and she’ll corroborate that in court.
“The court will decide what happens, they have the evidence, they have her statement and they have my statement, and they match. There’s no issue there.
“It’s never happened before and it won’t happen again.”
His grandfather John Munday said the incident was shocking but there was more to the story.
“They have their problems but something must have gone...she must have thrown something at him or done something and the whole thing’s just exploded,” he told reporters.
In the video stream, Mr Munday, also known by his Twitch streaming name MrDeadMoth, can be heard telling his partner to go away as she approaches him.
“Can you not? I said I’ll be out soon,” he says.
“No computer, I’m sick of this sh*t,” the woman responds.
The gamer is then seen stepping away from his camera — leaving the livestream to keep recording — before a noise that sounds like a slap rings out.
His partner can be heard crying off camera as he says, “How many times do I have to tell you? I said I’d be out soon.”
Mr Munday was once lauded for his tech skills — skills that landed him a top job at Telstra.
In 2016, Northern Sydney TAFE released an article about Mr Munday and his participation in the Cisco Networking Academy Net-Riders Competition as Australia’s top ranking IT networking expert.
Mr Munday was profiled by Cisco in November last year, telling the tech company he was raised by a single mum and that “family security is vital to (me)”.
“When my partner fell pregnant with our first child, a lot changes and your responsibilities go through the roof,” he said.
“I kind of had that philosophy I wouldn’t let that happen to my own kids.”
The mother of Mr Munday’s partner said he spends up to eight hours a day on Twitch, a video streaming platform where gamers can make money.
As well as earning money from Twitch streaming and playing Fortnite, Mr Munday was also working at Telstra as a network engineer, a job he was offered after placing sixth at the 2016 Cisco competition.
Telstra general manager of media Steve Carey confirmed Mr Munday had been suspended by the company immediately after his arrest.
“We have suspended Luke’s employment pending a full investigation and will co-operate with any police investigation,” Mr Carey said in a statement
“Domestic violence has no place in our community. It is totally unacceptable and needs to be eradicated.”
Mr Munday will front Camden Local Court on Thursday charged with common assault. He was granted conditional bail. An AVO application has also been made.
“While the woman was not seriously injured she was distressed and shaken by the incident.
“An apprehended violence order has been served,” NSW Police said.
Snippets from Mr Munday’s livestream went viral on social media yesterday after viewers witnessed the altercation.
In the video, the couple can be heard arguing with Mr Munday swearing at his 21-year-old partner before she bursts into tears off-camera.
Later in the video, MrDeadMoth leaves his computer again as the couple’s children can be heard screaming and crying “Daddy” in the background while his wife sobs off-camera.
Police later confirmed two girls aged three and 20 months were home at the time of the livestream.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call triple-0
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwutKwZJqbpGS7psPSaKqynJ6axm6zwKacq2Wdp7GmrcOmpq2gXaiuur%2BMoZysZZ6kwW6tjLCmppmeYq%2Biv8eeqWaZnpl6tb7UrZ9mr5mhuW6vzqacZqelqXqquoycpq6qpGS7psPSZqqtp6KufKKulWxubZ5gm4Z6g5aamHCbZWavpbKRn5xunGdugXWF