On the evening of July 29, O’Shae Sibley, 28 years old, was voguing with his friends at a Brooklyn gas station while listening to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album, according to the New York Times. A 17 year old told them to stop voguing and Sibley and his friends said no. The teenager proceeded to say homophobic slurs and stabbed Sibely. Sibley was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
New York City Mayor said the murder “clearly was a hate crime.” On Friday August 4, the 17 year old Brooklyn high schooler turned himself in and is being charged as an adult with murder as a hate crime. A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn Distict Attorney said that the murderer is held without bail and is expected to be in court on Monday, August 7.
A friend of Sibley’s, Otis Pena, was present at the incident of the hate crime and wrote in a Facebook post that he had told the homophobic murderer to stop saying slurs until Sibley stood up to the aggressor. Pena also said, “They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends.”
Another one of Sibley’s friends, Kemar Jewel, told the Times that Sibley was “goofy” and “fun-loving” and that “O’Shae was so well versed. He was great at tap, ballet, hip-hop.” Jewel also told the Times “He was out at a lot of marches, a lot of protests… He was excited to be outside on the front lines, using his body as a way of protest.”
Sibley’s aunt, Tondra Sibley, told the Times, “It was a senseless crime… O’Shae has always been a peacemaker. All he wanted to do was dance.”
A vigil was held on Friday, August 4 at 1935 Coney Island Ave in Brooklyn where the hate crime took place. Hundreds of people gathered around to mourn the loss of Sibley while also voguing to celebrate his passion for dancing. Legendary drag queen, Kevin Aviance, was present as many people vogued down the closed street as an act of defiance.
