A witness has revealed the heartbreaking final words of Morgan Freeman’s granddaughter during the trial for her murder.
E’Dena Hines, was just 33 when she was stabbed 25 times in Washington Heights in Manhattan on August 16, 2015. Her boyfriend, rapper Lamar Davenport, 30, is accused of her murder and is currently standing trial for her death.
Reporting from the court, the New York Post said Cristina Aviles, a 22-year-old nursing student described seeing Davenport restrain Hines on the street.
“They were arguing. She was on the floor, and he was on top of her, restraining her, stopping her from getting loose from his grip,” Aviles said.
Aviles explained how she proceeded to call the cops. “He was yelling things about releasing the devil out of her. And then he pulled out a knife,” she added.
“There was multiple stabs — the back, and then on the front of her chest and her neck.”
She described in horrifying detail how Hines tried to get away and “somehow flipped over” on her stomach before Davenport repeatedly wounded her. Davenport stopped stabbing into her, she said, once Hines “was still”.
As she was dying, Hines reportedly asked her boyfriend, “Why are you doing this?”
At the time, it was reported that Davenport was high on cocaine the night he stabbed her.
Another witness Xavier Gardere, 24, also testified about the brutal scene.
“He mounted her. He was just basically sitting on her hips. She was kicking. She was struggling at the beginning” said Gardere, New York Daily News reported.
According to the witness, Davenport said, while proceeding to stab her, “I love you. I always loved you! God would have wanted this”.
Hines was the daughter of Freeman’s stepdaughter, whom he adopted when he married his first wife Jeanette Adair Bradshaw.
The Oscar-winning actor said at the time of his granddaughters death: “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”.