The man who was caught in bed with Christy Mack by ex-MMA fighter War Machine has spoken out, explaining why he abandoned the porn star to be brutally beaten.
She was left with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket, leg injuries and a lacerated liver.
Now Internet mogul Corey Thomas, 38, speaks publicly about the incident for the first time since War Machine was sentence to life in prison, explaining himself to Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen for an episode airing on Monday.
Thomas, founder of the Vegas-based Web design company The Web Squad and contestant on a short-lived VHI reality show, was in bed with the renowned porn star Mack in August of 2014 when the horrific events unfolded.
Mack met War Machine in spring 2013, at which point she was already a well-established name in the adult film industry. They are pictured above together when they were a couple
Corey Thomas has spoken out about why he abandoned Christy Mack for the first time in an interview (left). Thomas was left bloodied (right) by War Machine’s attack before he ran
Mack was left with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket, leg injuries and a lacerated liver
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, who changed his name legally to War Machine during his 19-fight career, burst into the bedroom and caught Thomas with Mack, whom he was dating.
He immediately began attacking Thomas for roughly 10 minutes. The fighter bit and put Thomas in a choke hold.
‘He came on top of me and got me in a rear naked choke and…I thought to myself, “Oh OK, he’s going to kill me now”,’ Thomas said in the new interview.
War Machine beat Thomas and barked at Mack, telling her to tell Thomas that she belonged to him, according to court testimony.
Thomas, who has come under fire for abandoning Mack, explained why he decided to leave her with the still-raging War Machine.
‘In the moment, you think to yourself…”Why am I getting my ass kicked by this guy and she’s telling him that she loves him”,’ he said.
‘I figured to myself…”I’m in the wrong bed at the wrong time with the wrong girl…You crazy kids can figure this thing out for yourselves.” I gathered my stuff and left.’
Police arrested War Machine a few weeks after the horror attack on Mack and Thomas
War Machine was convicted of 20 felony and misdemeanor charges in the incident
During the trial, Mack (above) testified and began crying while looking at evidence photos
In the new interview, Mack reveals the agony she went through as the trial progressed
Asked if he thought about calling for help after he left, Thomas said: ‘No, because I thought to myself we just fought, the fight’s over.’
But the brutality was far from over. Over the course of several hours, War Machine savagely beat Mack, whose legal name is Christine Mackinday.
‘I was trying to stand up and he kicked me in my ribs so hard that I started convulsing,’ Mack recalled to Crime Watch Daily.
She has said she drifted in and out of consciousness as she was beaten, kicked and groped sexually.
During the incident, she has said he had stood over her and told her: ‘This is it. I’ve got to kill you now’.
After being viciously beaten for two hours, Mack was able to escape when War Machine went to look for a knife to kill her.
‘I would be dead. I know for certain I would be dead,’ Mack said of her fate if she hadn’t managed to escape.
After the attack, Mack was left with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket, leg injuries and a lacerated liver. She is pictured above in the hospital
War Machine was convicted of 20 felony and misdemeanor charges in the incident, and in June of this year received an aggregate sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years.
At the sentencing hearing, War Machine offered his remorse.
‘Not a day goes by that I don’t seriously regret all those things that I did. I was a very, very lost, very empty person,’ he said in his statement.
‘And to top it off, something’s not right with my head. Plain and simple. I’ve known that a long time and I’ve hated it.
In the new interview, Mack reveals the agony she went through as the trial progressed.
‘You don’t know if next month a group of 12 people are going to see your abuser as innocent,’ she said.
‘There were so many times I didn’t want to do it anymore.’
The full episode of Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen airs on Monday September 11. Check your local listings.