Grace Community Church Acclaimed Singer Jubilant Sykes Murdered at Home
Grace Community Church in Los Angeles is mourning the death of Jubilant Sykes, an acclaimed singer and member of the music ministry team, who police said was murdered in his home Monday night.
Sykes, 71, was a Grammy-nominated singer and member of Grace Community Church, where the late John MacArthur formerly pastored and where Sykes often sang.
On Monday, police responded to a 911 call at Sykes’ home, where they found him stabbed and where he was pronounced dead at the scene. His son, 31-year-old Micah Sykes, was arrested on suspicion of murder. The singer’s wife, Cecelia, told police her son had a history of mental illness, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The suspect was cooperative and taken into police custody without incident,” Santa Monica Police Lt. Lewis Gilmore told the Times. “The entire tragedy took place within the confines of the family home.”
Jubilant Sykes was an American baritone known for a genre-spanning career that blended opera, gospel, jazz, and classical music. He performed at major venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall,p and the Kennedy Center, earning acclaim around the world. In 2010, he received a Grammy nomination for his role on a recording of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
A Grace Community Church statement said Sykes was a “beloved brother and longtime key member.”
“In moments like these, our church family gathers not only to mourn, but also to give thanks – to acknowledge together the goodness of God displayed in a life He graciously lent to us for a season,” the statement said. “Jubilant was a man whose name suited him well. His life radiated the joy of one who had tasted the mercy of God. Though known to many around the world for his remarkable baritone voice, those of us who walked with him in fellowship came to treasure something far deeper: a humble, steady faith, and a heart that longed for the beauty of Christ to be seen and heard through everything he did.”
Sykes first sang at Grace Community in 1978. Even then, “God was shaping in Jubilant a gift that would one day draw audiences into a place of reflection and wonder,” the church said.
“Whether he was singing opera or classical to thousands outside the church, or hymns and worship inside the church, there was always a distinct sincerity in his expression – a conviction that his voice was not his own, but entrusted to him for the glory of God and the encouragement of others,” the statement said.
“Above all, we remember Jubilant as a beloved brother. His presence among us was marked by generosity, warmth, and a genuine love for the Word of God. He worshiped beside us, prayed with us, and found joy in the fellowship of believers. Many here will recall moments when his incomparable voice lifted our hearts heavenward – not as a performance, but as an offering.”
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Photo Credit: Facebook/GraceCommunityChurch
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published December 12, 2025.
