Strange Harvest 2025

First victim: young woman found dismembered in San Bernardino National Forest

In 1993, a young woman is found dismembered in the forests of San Bernardino. Detectives Kirby and Taylor begin tracing a pattern, but at first the murders are treated as separate incidents. The brutal discovery sets the tone for a decades-long case against Mr. Shiny.

Elderly man murdered in retirement facility

In 1993, a bedridden elderly man is bludgeoned and stabbed to death in his retirement facility. The scene hints at brutality and ritualistic elements that will resonate later in the investigation. This early murder broadens the scope of the killer’s reach.

Noah Lafone abducted and killed in a bog

The third victim, Noah Lafone, is abducted and found murdered in a bog, with his liver removed. The bizarre mutilation deepens the sense of ritual and cruelty behind the crimes. The case remains loosely connected to the earlier murders as investigators search for a pattern.

Sheridan family massacre and blood symbol on ceiling

In 2013, the Sheridan family is bound at the dining room table and exsanguinated via femoral artery cuts. Their blood is used to paint a strange symbol on the vaulted ceiling. The crime tightens the focus on a ritualistic killer.

Home invasion murder and Glen burned with a blowtorch

A young woman is murdered in her home, and her boyfriend Glen is burned on the face with a blowtorch. The attacks demonstrate the killer’s reach and willingness to mutilate victims to terrorize survivors. The violence escalates the investigation’s urgency.

Pool victim found in leech-filled pool

Another male victim is found in an abandoned swimming pool, half-filled with water and leeches. He slowly bleeds out over days as barbed wire around the pool edges prevents escape. The scene underscores the killer’s patient, ritualistic cruelty.

Online contact from coffee shop; stolen van and suspect

Kirby and Taylor trace online contact to public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop, where a homeless man reports a close encounter with the killer. The killer was driving a stolen van, and its owner, Victor Shamaz, becomes a prime suspect after claiming a masked thief stole it. This sequence widens the hunt and points to a mobile killer.

Sykes located at rented house; symbol above door

The detectives locate Leslie Sykes at a house he has rented for a year. A blood-painted symbol identical to the Sheridan scene is etched above the front door, linking the cases. The house becomes a primary location for pursuit and discovery.

Occult taunts and twenty-year absence key reveal

Sykes taunts police with letters invoking Kaliban and occult imagery. The team learns that, during a twenty-year absence from California, he traveled to Jerusalem and through the Middle East and Europe studying ancient sites and occult practices. The letters reveal a calculated, ritualistic mindset behind the killings.

Victoria Macenroe shot, symbol, and hospital infiltration

Victoria Macenroe is shot in her home and survives, with her blood used to draw the same symbol on the bedroom wall. Sykes later infiltrates the hospital posing as a nurse and kills Victoria by adding drain cleaner to her transfusion bag. The hospital sequence shows the killer’s audacious and methodical infiltration.

Doughnut shop employee murdered

Sykes murders a doughnut shop employee, removing his heart as part of the ritual pattern. The brutal act expands the killer’s repertoire and further unsettles the community. Investigators sense a calculated, symbol-driven campaign behind the violence.

Storage unit reveals organs and occult items

A storage unit rented by Sykes yields organs from multiple victims, occult-like books, and a statue of a leech-like creature. The discovery cements the sense that the murders are planned around a ritualistic mythology. For detectives, the collection provides crucial physical evidence.

Infant abduction and forest ritual attempt

Sykes murders a young couple and abducts their infant son, intending to burn the child to death in a ritual during a planetary alignment. Kirby and Taylor confront him in the San Bernardino National Forest and fatally shoot him as the ritual unfolds. A strange light appears in the sky, leaving witnesses unsettled.

800-year cycle and prophecy

Investigators learn that Sykes believed his spree was tied to an 800-year planetary alignment. A letter mailed two days before his death hints he would return in 800 years to complete his mission. The revelation frames the killings as part of a cyclic, occult prophecy rather than a single-life spree.