‘Law & Order: SVU’: Detective Munch Once Revealed the Unique Nickname He’d ‘Have To Call’ His Kids

In the hit series Law & Order: SVU, Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) has been an important and necessary member of the squad for 15 years. He was a seasoned detective before working at SVU, and he takes his skills with him to New York City.

In one of the first seasons of the show, Munch makes a comment about what he’d “have to call” his kids. Find out what it is.

Detective John Munch doesn’t have any children

Before working at SVU, Munch was a homicide detective for seven seasons in the Baltimore Police Department in the series Homicide: Life on the Street. He then works his way up the ranks from detective to a Sergeant of the SVU squad. His insight is invaluable on many occasions, especially with witnesses and general knowledge about a lot of different things.

Over the years, fans have learned that Munch has four ex-wives. However, he never had any children with them or anyone else. Despite that, Munch has always been fond of kids, and he knows how to talk to them, especially in difficult cases.

Munch left SVU in season 15 in 2013. He retires from the department and becomes a DA investigator. But he has returned before in season 15, episode 24 called “Spring Awakening” and season 17, episode 20 called “Fashionable Crimes.”

Detective Munch once revealed the unique nickname he’d ‘have to call’ his kids

Munch has been known to really understand and be able to communicate with children. That trait is on full display in season 2, episode 4 called “Legacy.” When a girl named Emily McKenna ends up in the emergency room, it’s discovered that she has a major injury to her head with fractures and bruising on her body. She’s also been molested, and the detectives try to figure out what happened while the little girl is in a coma.

Jennifer, Emily’s good friend, is interviewed to figure out what have have happened. According to Movie Fone, Munch speaks to Jennifer about her friend. This is where he mentions what he’d “have to call” his kids.

“Hi Jennifer,” he says.

“Hi,” she replies.

“I’m detective Munch,” Munch tells the child.

She laughs and says, “That’s a funny name, Munch.”

“You think that’s funny?” he tells her back. “I guess if I ever have kids I’d have to call them ‘Munchkins.'” Jennifer laughs at that, and Munch proceeds to talk to her about her friend.

Munch learns from Jennifer that Emily’s mother wanted to take her “away,” which is in reference to Jamie trying to have full custody. But her father, Denny Corea (Yancey Arias), the one with current full custody, was planning a trip – to take Emily to Cuba. Apparently he was trying to get his daughter away from her stepfather, Randall McKenna (Paul Michael Valley), who he thought was molesting her.

After revealing this information to Munch, Jennifer says, “I have a Barbie with hair that grows. You want to see it?”

“Maybe later,” Munch replies. “Fin and I have to help Emily now. But thank you for talking to me.”

Detectives eventually learn the truth

Denny apparently broke three bones in Randall’s face after Jamie filed for full custody of Emily. He also threatened to kill him. Randall tried to bribe him with a deal and said he wouldn’t file charges against him for assault if he gave up custody.

Then Denny attacks Randall thinking he was molesting his daughter, hitting him in the head and leaving him in critical condition. Although accusations are flying around everywhere, it’s actually her mother, Jamie Huntington-McKenna (Jennifer Dundas), who has been hurting her daughter, according to the Fandom page for the episode. Munch gets a hunch about the situation, and learns that Jamie was molested as a child by her own father. She admits to hurting her daughter while speaking to the detective.

This case is extremely difficult for Munch, and he reveals why to Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). When Munch was younger, he knew a girl who was his neighbor on the Lower East Side. She was being physically abused, and Munch even saw her with visible marks. One day the girl wasn’t standing on her porch like Munch usually noticed. Her mother had actually killed her. Munch was just a teenager at the time, but he had remorse and felt responsible for not helping her. He went to her funeral, and it’s something that has stuck with him ever since. The case reminded him of the terrible situation.

Munch always seems to know how to speak to children in difficult cases, and it says a lot about him.