BOSTON, Jan. 9, 2014—A Mattapan man today admitted to killing a relative during a fight on Blue Hill Avenue a year and a half ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DERRICK BULLOCK (D.O.B. 8/13/71) pleaded guilty to the crime of manslaughter for stabbing his nephew, 43-year-old Curtis Cox, on July 31, 2012, causing injuries that claimed Cox’s life at Boston Medical Center the next day. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Dana Pierce, Judge Christine McEvoy sentenced Bullock to 12 years in state prison.

Had the case proceeded to trial, Pierce would have introduced evidence and testimony to prove that the two men had a verbal argument in front of a liquor store at 1633 Blue Hill Ave. After Cox walked away from the fight, evidence would have shown, Bullock allegedly pulled a knife and followed him. The men then engaged in a physical struggle, during which Bullock stabbed Cox in the neck.

After the assault, Cox made his way into an adjacent pizza shop for help. Bullock left the area but later returned to the scene. Responding Boston Police arrested him at a nearby Sovereign Bank after speaking with multiple witnesses.  A knife was found on the ground in the path of Bullock’s initial flight, while a matching sheath was found by police in Bullock’s pocket.

Bullock was originally indicted for second-degree murder. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge in light of the circumstances of the fatal altercation and the wishes of Cox’s family members, who were present for today’s proceedings.

Bullock was represented by attorney Kelly Cusack.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.