A blind former Australian child actor was killed when the Palisades Fire swept through his family's cottage in Malibu as his mother alleged that the water supply had run out, leaving them unable to combat the blaze. The actor got trapped inside the cottage and couldn't come out.
Rory Callum Sykes, 32, who lives with cerebral palsy and appeared in several episodes of the British TV program Kiddy Kapers, hosted by his mother, author Shelley Sykes, died on Wednesday at the family's 17-acre property. "It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son to the Malibu fires yesterday," Shelley Sykes wrote on X.
Trapped in the Inferno
"He overcame so much with surgeries & therapies to regain his sight & to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica," she added.
Born blind and living with cerebral palsy, Rory Sykes tragically lost his life when embers from the destructive fire ignited the roof of the family's cottage, leaving him trapped inside, according to 10 News First.
A devastated Shelley Sykes revealed that she tried to rescue her son from the flames but was unable to do so due to an injury.
"He said 'Mom leave me' and no mom can leave their kid," she told the outlet fighting through tears.
"I've got a broken arm, I couldn't lift him, I couldn't move him," added.
His mother explained that she tried to douse the burning roof with a hose but was unable to do so. She claimed that the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District had turned off her water supply.
No Water to Save Her Son
According to Sykes, the "50 brave firefighters" in the area also struggled to combat the intense blaze without access to water. She said that she couldn't call for help because "911" was unresponsive, forcing her to drive a quarter mile through smoke-filled roads to locate first responders.
By the time Shelley and the firefighters made it back to the property, the standalone cottage had already been destroyed by the flames.
Rory's death is not included in the 16 fire-related fatalities announced by the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, as his remains have yet to be found, according to the report.
The Palisades Fire has claimed five lives, while the Eaton Fire accounted for six additional deaths. Firefighters told Sykes that her son had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Sykes said, "I didn't want my baby to suffer."
Sykes, a former child actor, hosted the British RTV show "Kiddy Kapers" in 1998, according to NewsAU. The family's Malibu estate was also featured on Shelley Sykes' reality series "Get Syked with Style". Later in life, Rory described himself as both a "gamer and a philanthropist," as mentioned on his website.
