Edena Hines, step-granddaughter of actor Morgan Freeman, was stabbed to death at around 3 am (EST) on Sunday. The police, who responded to a 911 call, found the 33-year-old stabbed multiple times in the torso and lying on the street near her apartment on West 162nd Street, New York.

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Hines, who played Beneatha in "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway, was pronounced dead when she was brought to Harlem Hospital after the gruesome attack.

The police have charged Hines' 30-year-old boyfriend Lamar Davenport with murder. He has been taken to the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation, reported CNN. 

According to New York Post, witnesses have described the killing of Hines as "exorcism." 

Eyewitness George Hudacko told the Post that the killer screamed, "Get out, devils! I cast you out, devils! In the name of Jesus Christ, I cast you out!", even as he stabbed her in the chest.

"The girl was making a lot of noise, screaming," added Hudacko. "I called 911 — I was begging them to come."

The report went on to say that the police had to struggle with Davenport physically as he continued to attack her lifeless body and that he "was still making a stabbing motion with his arm, but he had nothing in his fist — the knife was jutting out of her chest."

Davenport has a history of cocaine, pot and booze abuses and has been arrested six times in the past, according to law-enforcement sources.

Morgan Freeman paid tribute to his step-granddaughter by reading out a statement on Sunday. "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 Morgan Freeman's first wife, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw.