NEW YORK • Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman's step- granddaughter died on Sunday after she was found with multiple stab wounds on the street outside her Manhattan apartment, police said. E'Dena Hines, 33, was discovered by the officers after they were called early on Sunday morning to the address, the authorities said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A 30-year-old man, described by the police as her boyfriend, was taken into custody and hospitalised for a psychological evaluation, police said.

He had allegedly yelled: "Get out devils! I cast you out devils, in the name of Jesus Christ! I cast you out!" as he carried out the attack, a witness told the New York Post.

Hines, whose grandmother was once married to Freeman, appeared as a receptionist in his film 5 Flights Up, released in May.

"The world will never know her artistry and talent and how much she had to offer," the actor said in a statement.

NEW YORK TIMES