NY - Oshea Sibley, 28, Stabbed to death, Brooklyn, Possible hate crime, July 2023

[Cryptic]

The victim was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station following a confrontation with a group of men. The confrontation was centered on Sibley and his friends dancing while getting gas.

In the course of the confrontation, the men identifed Sibley and his friends as gay, informed them that gay dancing was not welcome in the neighborhood.

When Sibley refused to stop dancing. the men shouted anti gay slogans and a 17 year male eventually stabbed Sibley to death. Sourced stated that either the assailant, or others in the group, made certain religious references regarding the neighborhood while initiating the confrontation.

Still other sources state that the men confronting Sibley were not employees of the gas station, that an attendent had tried to separate the two groups. Video also shows that the dancers were clearly customers, and had not "taken over" gas station for a street performance etc etc.

The 17 year old suspect is on the run. I have visited that area of New York and a good number of the businesses in the immediate area are Moslem owned. The assailants stated religion matches that trend. The family could have active ties to foreign countries and this could increase the possibility of escaping over seas.

O’Shae Sibley, 28, the dancer killed while voguing in NYC, was from Philly and studied at Philadanco

O'Shae Sibley, killed July 29 in a suspected hate crime, was from Philadelphia and had studied at Philadanco. Its founder, Joan Myers Brown, remembers him.

www.inquirer.com

Muslim teen eyed in suspected anti-gay stabbing death of NYC dancer who was ‘vogueing’

O’Shae Sibley was an openly gay dancer and choreographer who had moved to Brooklyn in 2019.

nypost.com

 

[sds71]

The 17-year-old who police believe is responsible for the stabbing death of a 28-year-old professional dancer at a Brooklyn gas station last weekend has turned himself in, a law enforcement source told CNN.

The teenager turned himself in with his attorney and is now in police custody, the source said.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/us/oshae-sibley-killing-teenager-police-custody/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=2023-08-04T23:45:36

 

[Cryptic]

The teenager turned himself in with his attorney and is now in police custody, the source said.

Given the circumstances, my guess is that they are going to push hard for plea bargain. But with the mayor condeming the crime, I don't think generous plea bargain terms will be broth coming.

In the end, the defendant did not give any defense attorney alot to work with:

Video clearly shows that the defendant and individuals calling out to the victim. The victim's friend states that they yelled anti gay / black slurs.

A small bit of audio has the defendant identifying himself and / or the neighborhood as 'Muslim'. Thus, the audio seems to support the defendant's inherent opposition to the victim and his friends- though not the claimed insults per se.

Likewise, a subjective analysis of the video reveals:

- The victim and his friends, though engaging in uhmmm.... "exuberant" dancing, were also clearly getting gas and would have been leaving soon.

- The victim and his friends were not "taking over" the gas station for an impromptu street performance. Nor were they say, passing out controversial leaflets, been disruptive in a restaurant, gotten kicked out and were trying to get back in etc.

- The victim did approach the assailant's group. Though some professional dancers can be physically strong, agile and make formidable fighters, the victim and his friends were not conditioned to that extent. So, any self defense claims are going to be more difficult to advance.

Going even more subjective.....

- The assailant evidently worked at a nearby smoke shop. Any chance that not all "merch" there is consistent with Islamic teachings?

- The Coney Island boardwalk in the summer is not a hot bed of conservative religion of any sort. Alot of scantily clad women. I would love to see a credit card report of where they hang out in the summer. Something tells me they excuse themselves from their own rules and have selective out rage.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

As the friends pumped gas, one of Sibley’s party began dancing by the car. That’s when Popov and two others left the gas station store, allegedly spewing “homophobic and anti-Black slurs,” at the group, the district attorney’s office said in a press release Friday.

“Get that gay s--t out of here,” one of the men said, according to prosecutors.

“You don’t know us, we’re just having a good time and enjoying our lives,” Sibley told the men, trying to de-escalate the situation. “It’s all respect, we’re allowed to be here just like you.”

The other men left, but Popov stayed, recording the scene on his phone and hurling additional insults at Sibley and his friends, according to prosecutors. Eventually, Sibley and two other friends approached Popov, who allegedly responded by pulling a knife from his pocket, pointing it and threatening one of Sibley’s friends. Then Popov stabbed Sibley in the chest, puncturing his heart, prosecutors claim.

Sibley stumbled, falling into the arms of Otis Peña, whose birthday Sibley and his friends were celebrating, Peña said in a Facebook video recorded hours after Sibley’s death. Peña recalled holding his friend’s wound as blood soaked his hands and clothes. Saying he had lost “the one thing I had closest to my heart,” he said his friend had died “[just] because he’s trying to let people know that we’re gay, we exist, we don’t disrespect.”

Teen Charged with Hate Crime After Stabbing Death of O'Shae Sibley, N.Y.C. Man Voguing to Beyoncé

O'Shae Sibley, 28, was stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station July 29. Dmitriy Popov, 17, was arraigned Friday on a nine-count indictment.

people.com

 

[Cryptic]

Then Popov stabbed Sibley in the chest, puncturing his heart, prosecutors claim.

Wow, not only Popov, but Dmitry Popov.

In the short audio, Popov identifies himself as "Muslim" and admonishes the dancers to "show some respect".

From the context of the audio, it is possible that Popov also infered that his friends and the immediate neighborhood are also Muslim.

Though there are a variety of Islamic ethnic groups in Russia, I dont think the name "Dmitry" is high on their lists of first names for males.

This would probably be so even for individuals from these ethnic groups that have been largely acculturated into Russian culture. The assailant could also be of Ukrainian background as well as names and spellings between the two groups can transfer over.

In either case, the assailant is quite possibly a convert. As converts actively seek their new religion out, and in some cases are shopping for a new identity or sense of self, conversions to conservative or ultra conservative variations of the new religion are more common.

 

[Baba O'Riley]

I hope I'm allowed to post in this thread to ask for assistance in finding out the outcome of this case. I just got gas at the station where this tragedy occurred two years this month, and I was wondering if the suspect was convicted. I can't find any updates via Google. Can someone kindly tell me where I might look? Thanks in advance.

BTW,@Cryptic, in their post above, was perceptive in noting that the suspect was probably not a Muslim because his name is Dmitry. He was raised Christian.