The Tragic Death of Luke Batty

Isabella
Jun 21, 2022
4 min read

Above is a photo of Luke

Backstory

Rosemary or Rosie Batty was born in 1962. She grew up on a farm in the English countryside in Laneham. When she was 6 she lost her mother and was raised by her father, nannies and maternal grandmother helping with her 2 brothers. After she finished high school Rosie completed a secretarial course and briefly worked as a Nanny in Australia. But it was not until 1988 that Rosie moved permanently to Australia. In 1992 Rosie met a man named Greg Anderson at the recruitment company where they both worked. The two began a romantic relationship that would last 2 year before she ended the relationship as Greg showed signs of violence towards her and her friends. It was almost 8 years later when Rosie saw Greg again she said in an interview“He shared with me that in the eight years that he hadn’t seen me he had thought about me all of the time – that he had never had another girlfriend since me. He really just wanted to be with me.”and shortly after Rosie fell pregnant with a little boy.

Above is a Photo of Rosie Batty

A factor with her pregnancy was that it seemed to make Greg’s abuse towards her increase. There was one instance when Rosie and Greg had an argument and while she was out at work, Greg came to her house. She had bought Greg some slippers and he took a pair of scissors and cut them up. Despite all this Rosie still desired Greg to be in his child's life and he did express that he wanted to be there for the child, seeming excited about the idea of becoming a father. It was June 20, 2002 when their son Luke was born. When Luke was young Greg really loved him, he cared for him, he bathed him and would do all the things a loving father does. But when Luke was 2 Greg picked up a play cart and smashed it on the Bannister of the staircase and threw a piece in the direction of Luke and Rosie. He then came down to Rosie and pulled her by her hair and before he left he said ‘If you ever stop me from seeing Luke - I’ll kill you and your animals’.”

The following day Rosie lodged an intervention order against Greg.

But this was not the only instance, from June 2004 until February 2014 Rosie made numerous reports and allegations against Greg saying he physically assaulted and threatened to kill her, this led to a large number of arrests and charges. As Luke grew older he wanted less and less to do with his father as often saw the violent ways he treated his mum but Luke also had an understanding that he was the thing his father loved most and Luke had a sort of loyalty to his father. One day Luke returned from Greg’s house and told Rosie a very disturbing story. When Greg and Luke were alone in Greg’s car Greg pulled a knife on Luke and said ‘It could all end with this'. After this encounter Rosie sought another intervention order that prevented Greg from seeing Rosie or Luke unless in a public place.

The Fateful Day

It was February 12, 2014 the day of Luke's final cricket training session. Cricket was one of the few places Rosie felt comfortable for Luke to be around Greg; this was due to the large numbers of people and families attending. On the way Luke was worried about seeing Greg as he was concerned Greg wasn’t going to be in a good mood. But when they arrived at cricket Greg approached them with a smile on his face. Towards the end of the session Luke came up to Rosie and said “‘Oh, Mum, I haven’t seen Dad for a while. He’s asked me if I can have a few extra minutes,’. Rosie, believing that Greg was in a good mood and that Luke had not seen Greg in a while, said yes. Luke and Greg headed over to the nets and practised hitting the ball back and forth. But then the unthinkable happened Greg first bludgeoned Luke to death with the cricket bat before stabbing him.

Rosie heard a horrifying sound and before she knew what was happening she was running toward the batting cages. She saw Luke on the ground and Greg kneeling beside him. Her first thought was that Luke had accidentally been hit in the head with a ball but the reality was much worse than that. Rosie called 000. When paramedics arrived they attempted to get to Luke but Greg wouldn't let them. He threatened the paramedic with a knife until they had no choice but to get back in the ambulance for their own safety and call for backup. When officers arrived at the scene Greg began to yell “Shoot Me” the officers sprayed him with capsicum foam and then shot him Greg later died in hospital. Rosie had been taken away from Luke by paramedics and was eventually told ‘it isn’t an accident Rosie – we have evidence to suggest that Greg has killed Luke," That was the spiralling reality that Rosie had to try to comprehend.”

Aftermath

After the fact Rosie went on to do some great things. She became a domestic abuse advocate and created her own foundation the Luke Batty Foundation. She also won Australian of the year in 2015.