Morgan Freeman's Grandkid Murdered on NYC Street

The stepgranddaughter that Morgan Freeman helped raise was stabbed to death in New York City early yesterday, allegedly by a crazed boyfriend. Police have confirmed to People that 33-year-old E'Dena Hines was found outside her Manhattan home with multiple stab wounds around 3am. A witness who called 911 tells the New York Daily News that he witnessed the killing from his apartment and heard the attacker yell, "Get out, devils! I cast you out, devils, in the name of Jesus Christ! I cast you out!" Police sources tell the Daily News that the suspect is Lamar Davenport, Hines' 30-year-old boyfriend. Hines' grandmother was Jeanette Adair Bradshaw, Freeman's first wife.

"I want to acknowledge the tremendous outpouring of love and support my family has received regarding the tragic and senseless passing of my granddaughter," Freeman said in a Facebook post. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, he said the world "will never know her artistry and talent, and how much she had to offer" and "her star will continue to shine bright in our hearts, thoughts and prayers." Hines, who studied acting and had several minor film roles, had recently returned to New York City from Memphis for a role in an independent film, the New York Times reports. "My dream has come true and it's just beginning," she wrote on her blog. (More E'Dena Hines stories.)