A funeral Tuesday in Philadelphia will honor O’Shae Sibley, who was fatally stabbed after he confronted teenagers who taunted his group of gay, Black friends as they danced at a New York City gas station.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the 17-year-old arrested in connection with Sibley’s slaying was arraigned on a count of murder as well as a hate crime charge. The suspect was identified as Dmitriy Popov, of Brooklyn, and he is being prosecuted under a New York law which allows anyone who is over the age of 13 and accused of murder to be tried as an adult.
Friends of Sibley, 28, were expected to celebrate his life at a historic opera house in the city where Sibley grew up and performed before moving to New York to pursue his career as a dancer. He had performed with the dance company Philadanco and used dance to celebrate his LGBTQ+ identity.
Brooklyn prosecutors charge that Popov, a high school student, was motivated by hate to kill Sibley, who was Black.
The stabbing happened after a group of teenagers got into an argument with Sibley and his friends as they danced shirtless to a Beyoncé song while they filled their car’s gas tank.
Police said the teens used homophobic slurs and made anti-Black statements.
Security camera video showed the argument had broken up and both groups had walked away when Sibley and his friends abruptly returned and crossed a parking lot to confront Popov, who was recording with his phone.
In the video, Sibley could be seen following the teen and then lunging at him. The stabbing happened out of a clear view of the cameras.
At least one witness told reporters some of the teens had objected to the dancers’ behavior because they were Muslim. But the family and lawyer of Popov said he is actually a Christian who wears a cross and goes to church.
The teen’s grandmother told New York’s Daily News that Popov was defending himself at the time of Sibley’s killing.
Popov’s attorney, Mark Pollard, told the local television station WPIX that his client is a “Christian boy” whose parents are Russian. Pollard said Popov’s family hired him after detectives visited their home in an attempt to question the 17-year-old, and the teen then surrendered Friday.
It’s unclear whether police have recovered the knife with which Sibley was fatally stabbed. Pollard also said that Popov has not spoken with detectives.
Sibley’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from politicians and some celebrities, including Beyoncé and the filmmaker Spike Lee.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
