British-born Rory Callum Sykes lost his life on January 8 aged just 32, and his mother Shelley revealed the final moments she shared with him as she tried to save him from the Palisades fires
A British-born star, Rory Callum Sykes, tragically lost his life in the Los Angeles wildfires at the age of just 32.
Rory was born in the UK and moved to Australia as a child, before eventually settling down in LA where his mum, Shelley Sykes, had TV studios. Rory was born blind and with cerebral palsy, and worked on TV shows such as Kiddy Kapers as a young boy, before going on to release books and work as a motivational speaker telling his story.
Shelley spoke to Australia’s 10 News First after Rory’s death, and shared: “He was my baby, and he died needlessly.” She added: “Guess what didn’t work? 991. All the phone lines were down.”
The grieving mother shared Rory’s final words, after she realised she couldn’t move her larger son while struggling with an injury of her own. She revealed: “He said, ‘Mum, leave me,’ and no mum can leave their kid, and I’ve got a broken arm. I couldn’t lift him. I couldn’t move him.”
Shelley shared that after she left Rory and drove 400 metres to the closest fire station, she was told they had “no water.” She recalled saying: “Oh my God, my son, he’s locked in his room.” Shelley tragically explained: “When the fire department brought me back, his cottage was burned to the ground.”
Despite her son’s tragic loss, Shelley added that firefighters were able to share comforting news about the way Rory died: “He died with carbon monoxide poisoning rather than burning. I didn’t want any pain for my baby.” The mother added that she had plans to rebuild her home on the same site, explaining: “I’m not going to move. That’s going to be a place, a special place, for Rory and I. And we’ll make it even more beautiful than it already was.”
Shelley has already taken measures to begin rebuilding her destroyed home and workplace, and posted a Gofundme on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. The description for the fundraiser reads: “Shelley Sykes lost her son & TV Studios plus contents in the Palisades Fires. The money raised will help to clear the debris & go towards the rebuild of the Beautiful Unlimited America llc TV Studio to its former glory, after the Palisades Fires destroyed everything.”
Alongside promoting her fundraiser, Shelley shared a touching tribute to Rory on January 9. She wrote: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken. British born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine & his grandmas birthday 29 July 92, Rory Callum Sykes.
“@rorysykes was the founder with me of @happycharity a true humanitarian. He saw him self as the number one fan of @Apple & @tim_cook & most importantly an avid @RuneScape gamer! @rorysykes was born blind with cerebral palsy & had difficulty walking. 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 continued: “@rorysykes was a sought after inspirational speaker for @TonyRobbins when he was only 8 years old. @CallumsCure book first published by @simonschuster in Australia was about his courage. @rorysykes had his own cottage on our 17 acre Mount Malibu TV Studio estate, decked out with all the latest apple gadgets, which burnt down yesterday 8 Jan 2024 Malibu Fires.
“I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by @LVMWD Las Virgenes Municipal Water. Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day! He will be incredibly missed by @shelleysykes, mama his pet peacocks Edgee & Mickie & all his online fans around the world!”
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