Man Sentenced For Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter's Death While Defendant's Family Lashes Out At Actor

The man convicted for the murder of Morgan Freeman’s granddaughter has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison.

A judge sentenced Lamar Davenport, 33, on Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release. Davenport is believed to have fatally stabbed his girlfriend, 33-year-old E’Dena Hines, while the two were both high on PCP in August 2015. He was convicted of first degree manslaughter following a bench trial in May, according to the district attorney’s office.

“Ambitious and driven, E’Dena Hines was deeply loved by family and friends before her life was brought to a horrific and tragic end by her boyfriend, Lamar Davenport,” District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said. “I would like to thank the prosecutors in my office for securing a prison sentence commensurate with his extraordinarily violent crime, and offer my sympathies to Ms. Hines’ loved ones as they continue to mourn.”

Davenport is alleged to have murdered Hines while high on the effects of a dangerous cocktail of alcohol, PCP, and other drugs, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors claimed that Davenport and Hines were outside of her Manhattan apartment building at around 3 a.m. when Davenport, in view of witnesses, kicked Hines to the ground, pinned her and stabbed her 25 times in her back, arm and middle. 

Davenport’s legal team claimed during the trial that he did not intend to kill Hines. He believed that there was “a demon was inhabiting the body” of his girlfriend, and that “God, Jesus, Satan and a demon were somehow at play,” his attorney, Annie Costanzo, said.

“His mind had detached from reality,” Costanzo said during closing arguments. But prosecutors insisted that taking drugs “is no excuse for murder,” and argued that Davenport be held responsible for his alleged actions.

Davenport’s case was rife with controversy, with Davenport legal team claiming that Hines had confided in Davenport that she and her step-grandfather, Morgan Freeman, had a sexual relationship, the New York Daily News reports. Such rumors had persisted about Freeman and Hines, whose mother is the adopted daughter of Freeman and his first wife, for years. Both have repeatedly denied reports, but text messages unveiled during the trial showed Hines referencing “grandpa feelings” and Davenport mentioning that Hines would always have a “submissive love” for her grandfather that he, as her boyfriend, would have to accept, according to the Daily News.

Claims of an illicit relationship resurfaced again at Davenport’s sentencing, with Davenport’s mother placing the blame at Freeman’s feet, Page Six reports.

“Morgan Freeman molested her and he caused this. He did this,” she said, reportedly while she was being removed from the courtroom for yelling during sentencing. She insisted that her son was innocent, and called Hines’ death an “accident,” the outlet reports.

Freeman mourned his granddaughter in a statement obtained by The New York Times shortly after her death in 2015.

“The world will never know her artistry and talent, and how much she had to offer,” he said.

[Photo: Getty Images]