After being brutally stabbed 15 times by her son, Tracey Sydnor, a female preacher from Brooklyn, New York, has been confirmed dead.
Sydnor was the pastor of the Upper Room Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, which was located on Rockaway Avenue.
She grew up in the church and later became the choir director. In November 2021, she was named the congregation’s chief pastor.
Sydnor, 61, was murdered in her Brooklyn home on Wyona St. near Livonia Ave. in the afternoon on Saturday, January 29, when her son, Kenji Francis, allegedly stabbed her repeatedly.
According to the police, she was stabbed at least 15 times, including in the neck, ear, and hands. Sydnor was brought to Brookdale University Hospital by ambulance, but she was unable to be rescued.
Francis, her 40-year-old son, was arrested at their house on Sunday, while charges against him were still pending.
Francis has no prior arrests and has never been diagnosed with mental health issues.
A police source stated that “It seems like he just snapped.”
According to sources, a knife, suspected to be the murder weapon, was discovered in one of the home’s bedrooms.
One of Sydnor’s friends, Terrence Reed said to Daily News, “She was the glue that kept everything together. Not one bad thing can be said about her.”
Reed said, “She was full of life and full of love; she loved singing and dancing. She was a sweet lady.”
“We talked life stuff, church stuff, just everyday conversation. She was an encourager, very supportive person.”
Sydnor’s death was announced to the congregation during the sermon at the Upper Room Baptist Church in New York on Sunday, January 30, by Bishop J. Carl Henderson.
He said, “God bless you and please my sister, please my brother continue to pray for the family, her children, her siblings, and her extended family, and our church family as a whole. Our church is suffering a loss.”
