Morgan Freeman smiles as he denies knowledge of texts ‘proving sexual relationship’ with murdered step-granddaughter E’Dena Hines
The Oscar winner was asked by a photographer in an LA car park on Monday about the claims which emerged during the murder trial of Lamar Davenport.
MORGAN Freeman has denied any knowledge of texts alleging he had a sexual relationship with his step-granddaughter before she was killed.
The Oscar winner was asked by a photographer in an LA car park on Monday about the claims which emerged during the murder trial of Lamar Davenport.
Davenport is currently on trial for the 2015 killing of Freeman’s adopted granddaughter E’Dena Hines in New York City.
The clip shows the 80-year-old strolling to his car, dressed in a denim shirt, grey jeans and a baseball cap.
As he opens the car door, the snapper asks for his reaction to the texts “corroborating a relationship” between him and E’Dena Hines.
The Shawshank star smiles broadly as he shakes his head replying: “I don't even know what you’re talking about.”
A court has been told that Morgan Freeman had a sexual relationship with his step-granddaughter E'Dena Hines before she was murderedHe then calmly steps into his red Tesla Model S and closes the door.
Before she was murdered Ms Hines told her boyfriend the actor had been secretly sleeping with her, according to Davenport’s attorneys.
They have now introduced text messages into evidence where the victim mentioned “grandpa feelings”.
Ms Hines was murdered on August 16, 2015, outside her apartment building in Washington Heights, New York City.
Around six weeks before, on July 3 2015, she texted Davenport saying she was having difficulties with an older man.
She wrote: “I don’t ask him for advice he was calling to ask me . . . I blocked him for myself not for you because men who equal grandpa feelings don’t need to be in my life at all.”
The couple were discussing their relationship in the exchange and whether or not to take a break at the time when her “grandpa” came up.
Davenport at one point messaged her saying: “When it comes to . . . your grandfather, there’s a submissive love that will always be there.”
The revelations come after Davenport’s lawyer, Beth Unger, claimed in court Friday that Ms Hines “disclosed to Lamar Davenport and others that her grandfather engaged in a sexually inappropriate relationship with her”.
The defence team didn’t go into further detail, but provided testimony from a therapist who claimed that Davenport admitted to often arguing with Hines about infidelity.
Dr Jeremy Colley said: “Lamar admitted to me that they had a violent relationship.
“[Their] disagreements could be emotionally intense.”
Rumors about Freeman’s alleged affair with Hines have swirled since 2009, which is when it was first reported by The National Enquirer.
Gossip sites later claimed that the relationship was serious — and that the two were even planning to marry.
While they aren’t related by blood, Freeman has known Hines since she was a small child and has been a part of her life for years.
The 80-year-old adopted her biological mother, Deena Adair, during his first marriage to Jeanette Adair-Bradshaw and then helped raise Hines with his second wife, Myrna Colley-Lee.
Adair was Jeanette’s daughter.
Freeman and Hines have both said in the past that the claims about them sleeping together were completely false.
The actor said in a 2012 statement: “The recent reports of any pending marriage or romantic relationship of me to anyone are defamatory fabrications from the tabloid media designed to sell papers.”
In a separate statement, Hines wrote: “These stories about me and my grandfather are not only untrue, they are also hurtful to me and my family.”
Davenport is charged with second-degree murder and is facing a maximum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted. His lawyers are pursuing an insanity defence.
They claim that he wouldn’t have taken Hines’ life if it weren’t for the drugs he was on, one of them being PCP.
Dr Colley told the court: “Mr. Davenport did not possess the intent to kill Ms Hines.
“My opinion was that he lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions and know the nature and consequences of his conduct.”
The Sun Online has contacted Mr Freeman’s representative for comment.
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