Jared Remy, in his first interview since he was charged with murdering the mother of his child on Aug. 15, denied last night that he killed Jennifer Martel and claimed that he has refused to see his mother and famous father, Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy, since he’s been locked up.

“No. That’s ridiculous,” Remy insisted when asked if he killed Martel. “How dumb would I have to be? I loved her, I still love her.”

Remy spoke with a Herald reporter during visiting hours last night at the Middlesex County Jail in Cambridge, where he is awaiting trial for murder. Police say the murder was witnessed by a neighbor who grappled with him as he stabbed Martel multiple times. He’s due to be arraigned tomorrow.

Remy told the reporter she was the first person he’s agreed to see since he’s been locked up. He spoke through glass, over a telephone in the jail’s visiting area, for approximately half an hour.

Remy said his parents have been asking to visit him but he has declined to see them.

“I’m just trying to get adjusted here,” Remy said. He said he has spoken with his father over the phone. “I’m sure they’re not thrilled with me right now.”

Arianna, Remy’s 5-year-old daughter with Martel, remains in state custody, but he said, “She’s in a good place. She has a dog to play with, which makes me happy because she loves animals. I’m hoping she’s going to be a veterinarian one day.”

Remy said both his parents and Martel’s parents have petitioned for custody of the little girl. He said that while he is fine with Martel’s parents being allowed visitation rights, he wants custody to go to his parents because of their financial means. He said the Remys have been allowed to visit Arianna on Sundays and take her on family playdates, including horseback riding.

Remy said he has chosen not to contact his daughter while in jail, but he has clipped out pictures of her from newspapers, which he keeps with him in his cell. He said that so long as he remains in custody, he will not attempt to initiate contact with her.

“If she chooses to know me at some point and wants to see me, that’s fine. If she doesn’t, that’s fine, too. I just want her to be happy. I love her. I want her to go to high school, I want her to go to college, I want her to have everything in life she ?deserves,” Remy said.

Remy said he fears that if Martel’s parents, who live in Virginia, are awarded physical custody, he’ll certainly never see his daughter again.

Remy appeared upbeat and was enthusiastic about his chances for acquittal, using phrases such as “when I get out.” While insisting he didn’t kill Martel, Remy declined to elaborate on his claim of innocence.

He said he’s housed in general population and has been watching the Red Sox playoff games, although he said, “I’m not much of a baseball guy.”

Remy appeared much smaller than he did in photos taken of him at his court appearances, though he said he continues to work out. Asked if he was on steroids at the time of his arrest, Remy said, “No, I’ve admitted to taking them in the past but no, I wasn’t currently taking them.”

Remy has a prior conviction for assaulting a girlfriend in 2005. When asked about his brother’s and sister’s legal problems, and asked if it was stressful being in a locally famous family, Remy smiled and shook his head.

“You know, I think we’re just like normal people,” he said. “But if our name was Smith, you’d never see any of this in the newspaper.”

He said of his parents, “They’re very good people. I wish the media would leave them alone. None of this is their fault. They don’t need to be dragged down in this, too.”

He knew that Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan had taken a huge hit over how his case was handled — Remy was released two days before the murder, with the prosecution’s consent, after his arrest on a prior assault charge.

“People should leave her alone. She did nothing wrong,” Remy said.

Asked if other inmates ?bother him because of his ?famous father, he said, “They ask me questions and I answer them the best I can. People treat me better in here than they probably would out on the street right now.”

“I know my life is going to suck when I get out of here,” he said.