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Former Broadway performer Imani Dia Smith was stabbed to death over the weekend in New Jersey, and her boyfriend has since been arrested and charged with her murder.
Smith, who played the role of young Nala in the Broadway production of “The Lion King,” was found Dec. 21 with multiple stab wounds. Authorities say she was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. She was 26 years old.
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The exterior of the Minskoff Theater with the illuminated Broadway musical marquee “The Lion King” in New York on October 21, 2024. (Collection Smith/Gado/Getty Images)
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department issued a joint statement Dec. 23, saying a man had been arrested and charged in connection with the homicide. They identified the individual as 35-year-old Jordan D. Jackson-Small. Although the official statement does not specify that Jackson-Small was Smith’s boyfriend, it notes that the two “knew each other before the incident” and therefore this was “not a random act of violence.”
Jackson-Small was charged with 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.
The cast of The Lion King at the encore during its Broadway reopening at the Minksoff Theater on September 14, 2021 in New York. (Jenny Anderson/Getty Images)
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Smith’s family created a GoFundMe page in his honor, which raised more than $65,000, surpassing the original goal of $50,000. Funds raised will help the family cover funeral and memorial costs, crime scene cleanup at Imani’s home, trauma therapy for Imani’s son, siblings and parents, time off from work to grieve, care and participation in court proceedings, legal and administrative costs, as well as continued support for Imani’s son and care of her beloved dog, Kuro.
Josh Tower as Simba in the Broadway musical “The Lion King” performs for tour operators and tour operators at the 2005 PowWow convention at the Javits Center in New York. (Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Smith is survived by his 3-year-old son, his parents, his two younger siblings and “extended family, friends and a community who loved him so much,” the GoFundMe reads.
“Imani had her whole life ahead of her. She was a vivacious, loving and extremely talented person. A true triple-threat performer, her credits included playing the role of young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s The Lion King – an experience that reflected the joy, creativity and light she brought into the world,” reads the GoFundMe.
