Where Is The Man Who Murdered Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter Today?
At 2:54 a.m. on August 16, 2015, the NYPD received a phone call that a woman had been stabbed and left on the streets of Washington Heights in New York City along 162nd Street. As CBS News reports, one witness heard ranting outside at about 2:00 a.m. along the lines of, "Devil, be gone, Jesus and God." Another witness saw the actual stabbing, and a man standing over the victim, shouting, "God has arisen." By the time the police arrived and got the victim to Harlem Hospital Center, she was already dead. The woman was E'Dena Hines, granddaughter of Morgan Freeman. She was 33. Her killer was her boyfriend, Lamar Davenport. He was 30.
It took three years for Davenport to be convicted. The New York Times says that in 2018 he was acquitted of murder, but convicted of manslaughter, i.e., unintentional murder. The conclusion, the outlet claims, is that he'd stabbed Hines while on a "drug-fueled frenzy" after consuming phencyclidine, aka PCP. While tangled in the throes of "supernatural delusions" and convinced that Hines was possessed by demonic forces, Davenport stabbed her 25 times.
Then-Assistant District Attorney Christopher Prevost told State Supreme Court Judge Ellen N. Biben that Davenport's actions were "unquestionably intentional." Justice Biben disagreed and delivered a verdict of first-degree manslaughter, which holds a maximum sentence of 25 years. In 2019, CBS News reported that Davenport received a sentence of 20 years. Details are scarce, but by all accounts Davenport currently resides in state prison in New York, serving his sentence.
Serving his sentence at Sing Sing Correctional Facility
At present, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision site lists Davenport as residing in Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, a maximum-level security facility for males along the Hudson River. The Sing Sing website lists numerous programs for incarcerated people, including substance abuse and anger management programs. Per a 2022 audit, the facility has a high staff-to-inmate ratio, at 770 to 1341 on average over the 12 months preceding the report. While this information helps us compose a picture of Davenport's current life, there are no specifics whatsoever about his goings-on.
Prosecutors said that Lamar Davenport and E'Dena Hines shared a "turbulent and volatile" relationship, per The New York Times. In Touch has some utterly normal pictures from 2015 — the same year that Davenport killed Hines — of the two laughing while getting groceries. Months later, Hines uttered her last words to Davenport (via the New York Post): "Why are you doing this?" Witness Cristina Aviles said, "They were arguing. She was on the [ground], and he was on top of her, restraining her, stopping her from getting loose from his grip. ... He was yelling things about releasing the devil out of her. And then he pulled out a knife." Video footage on the Daily Mail from that very day seems to show PCP at work addling Davenport's speech and perception — along with alcohol. He also appeared aggressive towards Hines, who was filming him.
Remembered and cherished
By all accounts, Morgan Freeman had a close relationship with his granddaughter, E'Dena Hines. In fact, as the New York Post says, Hines was technically Freeman's step-granddaughter — the daughter of his stepdaughter, Deena Adair, whom he adopted during his first marriage to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw. Freeman made no such distinctions, however, writing at the time of Hines' death on Facebook, "I want to acknowledge the tremendous outpouring of love and support my family has received regarding the tragic and senseless passing of my granddaughter Edena Hines."
In another statement to USA Today, 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, in fact, had played a receptionist in Freeman's 2014 film, "5 Flights Up."
There have also been denied allegations of Freeman and Hines having a sexual relationship. Per Law & Crime, Hines' killer, Lamar Davenport, echoed these accusations, which even came up during his trial for reasons still considered unclear and unrelated to his killing of Hines. For his part, Freeman said that such accusations amounted to slander "designed to sell papers," per TMZ.
USA Today says that when Davenport's 20-year sentence is finished, he'll face five years post-release supervision. There's no word on whether he's eligible for parole before then.