Jubilant Sykes’s Son, Micah, Was Arrested for the Singer’s Fatal Stabbing — Who Is He?
The Grammy-nominated opera singer was found dead in his home in December 2025.
Published Dec. 10 2025, 1:04 p.m. ET
Grammy-winning opera singer Jubilant Sykes grew his fanbase by singing baritone voice and melodic sounds. In 1998, he created his debut opera album, Jubilant, after signing with IMG Records. Jubilant continued making strides in his career, including performing as Jake in Porgy and Bess for the Metropolitan Opera and being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2009 for his performance as Celebrant on the recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, a nomination he shared with conductor Marin Alsop and album producer Steven Epstein.
In addition to his work on the stage, Jubilant was a dedicated husband and father. Throughout his life, he and his wife, Cecilia, had three sons. Unfortunately, one of his sons has been charged with the singer's murder. Here's what to know.
Who is Jubilant Sykes's son, Micah Sykes?
On Dec. 9, 2025, Santa Monica, Calif. police published a press release to confirm Jubilant had died at the age of 71. The officials shared in its report that officers responded to a call from an anonymous tip stating they heard an assault in the 1700 block of Delaware Avenue. When the police answered the call, they arrived to Jubilant's house and found him dead at the scene.
Jubilant's son, Micah Sykes, was then found inside the residence and taken into custody without incident, meaning he was compliant in his arrest. After securing the scene, police subsequently obtained a search warrant.
While Micah is a prime suspect in his father's murder, the motive behind his death is unknown. There also isn't much public information about Micah besides what Jubilant shared of him on his Instagram account. Online, the singer celebrated his son's achievement, including a shout out in May 2020 where he captioned a photo of his son, "Micah my son the artist." Jubilant also celebrated his son being accepted into UCLA in 2020.
"Nothing 'instant' about this...Just love his smile!" Jubilant shared.
Jubilant Sykes often discussed his love for his sons.
Perhaps what makes Jubilant's fate even more heart-wrenching was that, before his son was a suspect in his murder, he basked in being a parent to Micah and his two other sons. The artist spoke of the joys of parenting on Instagram, including a beautiful post he dedicated to his children discussing how Black boys and men are treated by police.
"Seeing these photos of my sons as young boys and young adult men, moves me now to tears," Jubilant shared. "Knowing how blessed we've been to still be here and to experience a LOVE that transcends all. Yet who would ever think that all of these young men as well as myself would at some point in our adult lives experience being hand cuffed, put in a police car, stripped search from the waist down in front of your peers and taken to a downtown precinct."
"All at different times in our lives. What we had in common- we were black men innocent of any crime," he continued. "It happened to my father, it happened to me and it's happened to my sons. It's very hard to believe for some of you I know- especially in this amazing country. I share this so hopefully you'll have an inkling of the frustrations of so many people that have no hope, no resources, no friends with connections."
In light of what allegedly happened to Jubilant, many fans took to his 2020 post to discuss the devastating irony of it.
"My heart is broken," one fan said. "Praying for the family."
"Crushed," another shared.
According to Los Angeles County jail records, Micah is being held in lieu of $2,000,000 bail.