Morgan Freeman has paid tribute to his step-granddaughter after she was found fatally stabbed in a New York City street early on Sunday.
Morgan Freeman has paid tribute to his step-granddaughter after she was found fatally stabbed in a New York City street early on Sunday.
E'Dena Hines, 33, was stabbed multiple times in the chest allegedly by her 30-year-old boyfriend Lamar Davenport. They are pictured together below.
She was allegedly killed as part of what witnesses have described as an "exorcism."
"It sounded like an exorcism," neighbor Bryndon Tarafa told INSIDE EDITION. "He was screaming at the top of his lungs, 'Jesus Christ is born.' I thought it was crazy - I didn't know what to think."
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Another witness, George Hudacko, told INSIDE EDITION he heard Hines screaming in the street.
"I looked out and I saw this girl in the middle of the street and a guy over her. It looked like he was moving around her abdomen," he said.
"I heard, 'Holy God, Jesus Christ, demons be out!'"
He said he heard Hines screaming before she went quiet and was taken away by an ambulance.
Police responding to a 911 call found her lying in the street before 3am and she was pronounced dead in hospital.
Hines' boyfriend has been charged with murder. He was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center reportedly for a psychiatric evaluation.
In a statement on Sunday, Freeman said: "The world will never know her artistry and talent, and how much she had to offer. Her friends and family were fortunate enough to have known what she meant as a person.
"Her star will continue to shine bright in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. May she rest in peace."
Hines was the granddaughter of Freeman's first wife, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw. The couple was married for 12 years before divorcing in 1979.
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Hines, who was often pictured with Freeman on the red carpet, was also an actor. She had recently won a part in an independent movie and moved from Tennessee to New York to begin filming this summer.
"My dream has come true and it’s just beginning," she wrote in a blog post last month. "Life can make you want to give up or walk away; sometimes it gives you the strength to appreciate when you do get your happy ending."
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