The Man Who Killed O’Shae Sibley For Dancing To Beyoncé Just Got 20 Years
O’Shae Sibley was voguing to Beyoncé at a Brooklyn petrol station when he was stabbed to death. Almost three years later, the man who was found guilty of killing him is going to prison for a long time. On 16 July 2026, Dmitriy Popov was sentenced to 20 years for first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime.
What Happened At The Petrol Station?
On 29 July 2023, O’Shae and his friends stopped at a Mobil station on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. They were heading back from the beach, still in their swimwear, dancing to Beyoncé while they refuelled. A group approached and told them to stop. Prosecutors said the men were met with anti-gay abuse, including the line, “Get that gay s**t out of here.”
The confrontation turned physical, and Popov, then 17, pulled a kitchen knife and stabbed O’Shae in the chest. He died at the scene. We reported this when it happened.
Popov, now 20, argued self-defence. He testified that he only meant to threaten O’Shae and that O’Shae ran at him. The jury rejected it. They convicted him of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, along with menacing, aggravated harassment, and criminal possession of a weapon.
The judge handed down 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said O’Shae “was simply being himself” the night he was killed, and pledged to keep prosecuting hate crimes.
O’Shae’s loved ones spoke at the sentencing. His sister, Dezirah Kelly, told the court, “My brother should not have been killed. He did nothing wrong.” Otis Pena, who was there that night, said, “It messed me up to have my brother die in my arms.” Popov offered his own words: “No matter the outcome of my sentence, I just ask for forgiveness.”
A Verdict That Can’t Give Him Back
Twenty years is a sentence. It is not a resolution. O’Shae Sibley was a dancer who used his art to speak up for his community, and he was killed for doing something joyful in public while Black and gay. The conviction names what happened for what it was.
O’Shae Sibley was 28. He should still be dancing.
