A 25-year-old Broadway actress, Imani Dia Smith, best known for playing Young Nala in the stage adaptation of Disney’s The Lion King, has been stabbed to death at her residence in New Jersey, with her boyfriend arrested in connection with the killing.
Smith was found with fatal stab wounds after authorities responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing at a home on Grove Avenue in Edison, Middlesex County, at about 9:18 a.m. on Sunday, December 21.
In a press release, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said first responders discovered Smith at the scene and rushed her to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The statement read, “Upon their arrival to a residence on Grove Avenue, they discovered Imani Smith, 26, of Edison with stab wounds.
“Smith was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she was ultimately pronounced deceased.”
Smith’s 35-year-old boyfriend, Jordan D. Jackson-Small, has been arrested and charged over her death. Prosecutors said the incident was not a random act of violence, noting that both parties knew each other prior to the stabbing.
“Moreover, Smith and Jackson-Small knew each other prior to the incident, thus it was not a random act of violence,” the prosecutor’s office stated.
Jackson-Small was arrested without incident following an initial investigation and is facing multiple charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
He is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending the outcome of a pre-trial detention hearing.
Smith is survived by her three-year-old son, her parents, two younger siblings, and other extended family members. In the wake of her death, her family launched a GoFundMe fundraiser, which had raised over $50,000 as of December 25.
“She leaves behind a 3-year-old son, her parents, her two younger siblings, and an extended family, friends, and community who loved her so very much,” her aunt, Kira Helper, wrote on the fundraising page.
Helper described Smith as a vivacious, loving and fiercely talented person, adding that she was a “true triple-threat performer” whose role as Young Nala in The Lion King showcased “the joy, creativity, and light she put into the world.”
According to the fundraiser, donations will be used to cover funeral and memorial expenses, crime scene cleanup, trauma therapy for family members, legal and administrative costs, as well as ongoing care for Smith’s young son and dog.
Smith’s mother is a hairdresser in the film industry and was most recently credited on The Housemaid.
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