Man accused of hate crime killing of dancer O'Shae Sibley testifies "it wasn't my intention to hurt"

The suspect accused of killing dancer O'Shae Sibley in Brooklyn took the stand in his murder trial Wednesday. 

Sibley was stabbed in the heart in 2023 after dancing with friends at a gas station. 

Dmitry Popov, who is now 20, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder as a hate crime. He testified Wednesday for more than four hours. 

Sibley's friends and family were present at court. It's been nearly three years since Sibley was killed. The 28-year-old was returning from the beach with friends in July 2023 when they stopped at the gas station and danced to music on the radio. 

Surveillance video shows Popov, who was 17 at the time, standing with friends nearby. 

"I wasn't yelling any slurs"

Popov testified his friends called him over to see "a guy walking around with a jock strap and butt out," and that his friend used homophobic slurs while asking the group "can you take that somewhere else?" 

Video captured the two groups arguing, and Popov recording on his phone. Eventually, they started to disperse. 

"I was telling them, you guys get out of here," Popov told the court. "I wasn't yelling any slurs." 

Sibley's friends circled back. 

"I felt I was slowly getting surrounded," Popov testified. 

He pulled a kitchen knife from his pocket. 

"I was showing keep a distance," Popov told the court. 

He claimed Sibley's friend said to him "put the knife down, let's fight."

"It wasn't my intention to hurt" 

At one point, the video shows Sibley run at Popov. 

Prosecutors said during questioning "that would be the perfect time to turn around and run away." 

"I didn't want to be hit from the back," Popov replied. "It wasn't my intention to hurt."

The knife punctured Sibley's heart, and he was soon pronounced dead. 

Popov's defense attorney argues his client was acting in self-defense. 

"In a self-defense case, obviously nobody wants anyone to die, but at that moment, as a 17-year-old boy, thinking like a 17-year-old boy, he did what he thought was reasonable, necessary, and I'm talking about in seconds. He thought about this in seconds, and that's how we ended up here," defense attorney Mark Pollard said. 

The trial continues Thursday. If convicted, Popov faces up to life in prison. 

Who was O'Shae Sibley?

Sibley was a well-known dancer who was part of the ballroom community. He was a professional dancer featured in music videos and performed at New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. 

Originally from Philadelphia, he got his start at Philadanco! at just 14. He moved to New York to pursue his dance career and also dance with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

"Just a ball of light"

Other dancers, performers and community members across the city and country mourned his death.

Beyoncé posted about his death on her website, and Spike Lee also posted a tribute on his Instagram. 

Crowds gathered at Pier 46, the East Village and the LGBT Community Center in the West Village, days after the incident.

"Just a ball of light. Just like he was. I want him to be remembered just the way he was," Sibley's father, Jake Kelly, said.

In August 2023, his younger sister, Destineh Kelly, said she wanted justice for her brother.

"I can't wait to go to trial because my brother didn't deserve this," she said.