Police are investigating the murder of Grammy-nominated opera singer Jubilant Sykes in Santa Monica, California.
Officers responded to a home in the 1700 block of Delaware Avenue on Monday night, Dec. 8, after receiving a 9-1-1 call about “an assault in progress” at 9:20 p.m., the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) said in a news release.
When officers arrived, they found an elderly man with critical injuries “consistent with a stabbing.” Firefighters were called to the scene and pronounced Sykes, 71, deceased at the location.
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SMPD said the victim’s son, Micah Sykes, 31, was found inside the home and taken into custody. He is expected to be charged with murder later today, according to police.
Micah is being held on $2 million bail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 8:30 a.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s inmate locator website says.
Detectives from the department’s Criminal Investigations Division responded to the house. They collected evidence after obtaining a search warrant and are working with forensic analysts to process evidence, including a weapon recovered at the scene.
Known for his baritone voice, Jubilant Sykes is a native of Los Angeles and graduated from California State University, Fullerton.
In an interview posted to the university’s YouTube page in 2019, Sykes talked about returning to the CSUF campus to mentor students.
“Even though I am so much older than these guys, I see myself in their eyes,” he shared. “I see the longing to be great. I see the insecurities, asking am I great? Can I be great? I see all of that.”
Sykes was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009, in the category of Best Classical Album for Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass.”
Over the years, he performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Arena di Verona in Italy, London’s Barbican Center, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Apollo Theater, and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, according to his personal website.
He also collaborated with Julie Andrews, Terence Blanchard, Josh Groban, Patrice Rushen, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Warren, and Brian Wilson.
Sykes enjoyed acting as well. He had a role in the suspense thriller The Descent (2023), and in the movie Freedom (2014) as an African slave named “Ozias.” He contributed to the soundtrack for the 1990 film Pastime as well.
The singer and actor appeared in the play “Breath and Imagination” by Daniel Beaty on the life of Roland Hayes at the Hartford Stage. He portrayed Pompey in the musical “Bloomer Girl,” and played Henry Richard Lee in the musical “1776.”
Sykes is survived by his wife Cecelia and three sons.
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