Man charged with killing gay dancer O’Shae Sibley denies hate crime motive
Memorial for murdered gay dancer O’Shae Sibley (Getty Images)
A man who killed gay dancer O’Shae Sibley outside a gas station in New York has told a court he acted in self-defence.
Dmitriy Popov denied hurling racist and anti-gay slurs before fatally stabbing Sibley in 2023.
Prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder as a hate crime.
“I was scared that I was going to get hurt,” Popov testified, according to The New York Times.
The stabbing was captured on video at a Brooklyn gas station. Sibley and his friends had stopped there after a day at the beach. Popov, then 17, arrived with his own group, and an altercation broke out.
Surveillance footage showed Sibley dancing to Beyoncé’s Renaissance album shortly before the incident. Police alleged Popov and his friends hurled slurs at Sibley’s group.
Investigators said Popov pulled out a knife and stabbed Sibley in the heart.
Now charged as an adult, Popov admitted in open court to the stabbing, but denied key parts of the prosecution’s account.
Popov claimed Sibley and his friends surrounded his group, claiming Sibley punched him in the head before he stabbed him in self-defence.
“So it’s your testimony that they all came in here and lied to this jury, but you’re the one who is telling the truth?” prosecutor Sarah Jafari asked. “Yes,” Popov responded, adding that he had not used any slurs.
His account is allegedly inconsistent with the surveillance video. The footage showed him remaining outside as his friends went back in. He then shouted at Sibley’s group and charged towards them.
