New York Daily News

Dying to know boxing winner after cop shoot

- BY CHRISTINA CARREGA and RICH SCHAPIRO

AS AN NYPD cop lay dying at a city hospital, his accused killer coldly asked detectives about the winner of a boxing match that took place the same night.

Demetrius Blackwell, 37, revealed the darkness in his heart when he inquired about the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout following the 2015 murder of Officer Brian Moore, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

“He’s remorseles­s and just doesn’t give a damn,” Queens Assistant District Attorney Dan Saunders said in his closing argument.

Saunders’ blistering final statement to the jury marked the end of a three-week trial that focused in part on Blackwell’s mental health.

His lawyer argued that the deranged ex-con suffered from issues so severe that he was not in control of his actions when he gunned down Moore.

“Mr. Blackwell has seizures and psychosis mixtures that shows he was not responsibl­e,” his attorney David Bart said in his closing argument.

Jury deliberati­ons got underway about 4:40 p.m.

If convicted on the top charge of first-degree murder, Blackwell (photo) faces life in prison without the possibilit­y of parole.

Prosecutor­s say the suspect knew exactly what he was doing when he opened fire on Moore and his partner Erik Jansen along a Queens Village road.

The pair were on patrol in an unmarked sedan near the corner of 104th Road and 212th Place when they spotted Blackwell acting suspicious­ly.

After seeing the officers, the suspect crossed the street and shielded one side of his body as if he was hiding something.

Moore slowed his vehicle to a crawl and showed Blackwell his police badge.

Blackwell ignored Moore’s demands and pulled out a gun, firing three shots at the officers, prosecutor­s said.

Two bullets slammed into Moore’s head. A third struck Blackwell’s childhood home on 212th Place.

In seeking to prove Blackwell’s mental instabilit­y, his lawyer submitted 7,000 pages of medical records.

“He acted badly, wrongly and stupidly, but it was not intent to kill,” Bart said.

Saunders ripped into a defense expert, Dr. Sarah Schaffer, after a witness discredite­d her claim that Blackwell suffered a seizure the day before the attack.

“I don’t know how much it cost to retain her, but even if she did this for free, Mr. Bart paid too much,” Saunders said.

“It’s clear, there’s no loss of selfcontro­l,” Saunders added. “Officer Brian Moore was killed because he was a police officer.”

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