'He was my baby and he died needlessly,' says the mom of child actor Rory Callum Sykes who fell victim to the Los Angeles wildfires.
The 32-year-old became trapped in his cottage, situated on the grounds of his mom Shelley Sykes' estate, as the Palisades Fire tore through the neighborhood - burning Rory's residence down in the process.
The Brit, who was blind and lived with cerebral palsy, starred in the British RTV show Kiddy Kapers back in 1998 and became a much-loved star. He defied the odds amid ongoing health battles, and even went on to learn to walk, run and see.
His mom took to Twitter on Thursday (January 9) to confirm the death of her son. She posted: "It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday," she wrote on social media.
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"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!"
Now, Shelley has shared the heartbreaking final words his son said to her as she tried desperately to save him.
Speaking to Australian outlet, 10 News First, she said: "He was my baby and he died needlessly.
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"Guess what didn't work? 911, all the phone lines were down."
Revealing what were her son's final words, an emotional Shelley added: "He said 'Mom leave me', and... no mom can leave their kid. And I couldn't, I've got a broken arm, I couldn't move him, I couldn't lift him."
Rory's mom drove 400 meters through thick smoke to her local firestation to plead with them to help but they explained all they had was axes and so couldn't extinguish the blaze.
"They said 'We've got no water', and I said 'Oh my god, my son is locked in his room,'" Shelley told the TV station.
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"When the fire department brought me back his cottage was burnt to the ground.
"He died with carbon monoxide poison rather than burning... I didn't want any pain for my baby."
The entire interview was difficult to watch with Rory having passed just days before, while Shelley was raw with emotion.
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The death toll from the blaze has risen to 11, while more than 153,000 more have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
It all began on Tuesday when Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires set the city alight. Since then, Palisades Fire has burned through 21,596 acres with only 11 percent of it in containment, stretching between Malibu and Santa Monica - and has since started spreading east.
Eaton Fire has burned through 14,117 acres with 15 percent containment, Kenneth Fire has spread across 1,052 acres with 80 percent containment, Hurst Fire has damaged 799 acres with 76 percent of it contained.
The Lidia Fire has burned through 395 acres, but now entirely contained. Meanwhile, the newest Archer Fire is spread across 19 acres with zero percent containment.
Topics: Los Angeles, Wildfires, Parenting, Climate Change, Property, US News
Joe Yates