The father of the teenager accused of murdering O’Shea Sibley at a gas station claims his son, Dmitriy Popov, was the one who was attacked.
Popov, then 17, was charged with allegedly stabbing Sibley, 28, a professional dancer who was voguing a Beyoncé song while filling her car with gasoline on July 29, 2023.
After a hearing in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Wednesday, Popov’s father exclusively told DailyMail.com: “My son is a good boy, he goes to church, he goes to school – everything they say is not true “.
“He was being attacked by four people,” his father added.
Popov, 17, pictured, is charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime. Still, his father insists that his son was the real victim.
In the photo, in his youth, Popov was trained as a kickboxer.
Popov pleaded not guilty in August to second-degree murder as a hate crime. The fourth-year student at The Professional Pathways Sheepshead High School had no previous run-ins with the law.
At the time of the altercation, surveillance footage captured a group of teens allegedly yelling homophobic slurs and anti-black statements at Sibley and his friends, according to surveillance footage. ABC News Chicago reported.
Security camera video showed the argument had ended and both groups had walked away when Sibley and his friends abruptly returned and crossed a parking lot to confront the 17-year-old white boy, who was recording on his phone, the Associated Press reported.
In the video, Sibley could be seen following the teen and then charging at him. The stabbing occurred out of clear view of the cameras.
Authorities said after the exchange of words, the teen pulled out a knife and stabbed Sibley to death.
Popov then turned himself in when Brooklyn prosecutors charged him with murder, hate crime murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Mark Pollard, Popov’s lawyer, told DailyMail.com that this is “a very strong case of self-defense.”
“There was no intentional murder here, and we plan to prove it after the trial, and they certainly won’t be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain these charges,” Pollard said.
Popov, pictured here with his family.
“My son is a good boy, he goes to church, he goes to school – everything they say is not true,” Popov’s father said of his son, photographed here as a child.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez previously assured the public that the case would be taken “very seriously” against Popov.
“They were just being themselves, dancing happily to Beyoncé music at a Brooklyn gas station,” Gonzalez said.
“We promise the family that we will pursue a vigorous and thorough process.”
“Defending yourself against an anti-gay or anti-black comment and talking back is no reason for someone to pick up a gun and do what was done in this case,” González added.
More than 200 people attended Sibley’s funeral in his hometown of Philadelphia, at the historic opera house.
Sibley had moved to New York to pursue his career as a dancer. He performed with the Philadanco dance company and danced to celebrate his LGBTQ+ identity.
Otis Peña, a close friend of Sibley who was at the gas station, shared his pain hours later in a Facebook video. ‘O’Shae had the power to touch the heart of anyone who met him.’
He added: “He was ‘a beacon of light to many of us in our community.'”
Sibley had moved to New York to pursue his career as a dancer. He performed with the Philadanco dance company and danced to celebrate his LGBTQ+ identity.
The 28-year-old was known as “a beacon of light” to his community.
A celebration of life service followed at the Met in Philadelphia. Sibley’s father, Jake Kelly, was seen laying eyes on his son in his casket as he said his final goodbyes.
Sidley was buried at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Her heartbroken mother, Onetha Sibley, was seen placing her hand on her son’s royal blue casket, surrounded by her loved ones.
After her death, tributes poured in from all corners, including from filmmaker Spike Lee and musical artist Beyoncé. Spike Lee posted the Instagram message, ‘Rest in Power.’