Funeral for O'Shae Sibley held at Met Philadelphia after dancer stabbed at gas station

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Funeral for dancer stabbed at gas station held in Philadelphia
O'Shae Sibley was laid to rest after a wake and funeral at Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House. Tarhonda Thomas has the latest.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- O'Shae Sibley was laid to rest after a wake and funeral at Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House.

The 28-year-old was killed while dancing with his friends at a Brooklyn gas station last Saturday when police say he was stabbed to death in a hate-motivated confrontation.

He lived in Philadelphia before moving to New York to pursue his dancing career.

Dance is one of the things his sister, Dezirah Kelly, says made him a light in the darkness.

"For my brother to no longer be here, it's like the night without the moon," Kelly said during his vigil.

Sibley's best friend was there when police say homophobic and anti-Black slurs were shouted at them before it turned deadly.

"There's no hate in my heart, it's all love. And unfortunately, it takes a person to open their heart," said Otis Peña.

A 17-year-old from Brooklyn turned himself in on Friday and was charged with murder as a hate crime.

Sibley was buried at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

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