Former Broadway performer Imani Dia Smith was stabbed to death in New Jersey over the weekend and her boyfriend has since been arrested and charged in connection with her murder.
Smith, who played Young Nala in the Broadway production of “The Lion King,” was found on Dec. 21 with multiple stab wounds. Officials 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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Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department issued a warrant joint announcement on Dec. 23, saying a man had been arrested and charged in connection with the murder. They identified the person as 35-year-old Jordan D. Jackson-Small. While the official statement did not say that Jackson-Small was Smith’s boyfriend, it did note that the two “knew each other prior to the incident” and therefore it was “not a random act of violence.”
Jackson-Small has been 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’ during the Broadway reopening at the Minksoff Theater on September 14, 2021 in New York City. (Jenny Anderson/Getty Images)
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Smith’s family set up a GoFundMe page in her honor, which has raised more than $65,000, surpassing the original goal of $50,000. The money 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, provide care and attend legal proceedings, legal and administrative costs, as well as continued support for Imani’s son and care for her beloved dog, Kuro.
Josh Tower as Simba in the Broadway musical “The Lion King” performs for tour and travel companies 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 her three-year-old son, parents, two younger siblings and “an extended family, friends and community who loved her so much,” according to the GoFundMe.
“Imani had her whole life ahead of her. She was a vibrant, loving and immensely talented person. She was a true triple threat performer, most notably playing the role of Young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s Lion King – an experience that reflected the joy, creativity and light she brought into the world,” the GoFundMe said.
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