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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 in connection with her murder.
Smith, who starred as 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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The Minskoff Theatre exterior with “The Lion King” Broadway musical marquee illuminated, New York City on Oct. 21, 2024. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department issued a joint announcement on Dec. 23, saying that a man had been arrested and charged in connection with the homicide. They identified the individual 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” at curtain call during their Broadway reopening at The Minksoff Theatre on Sept. 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, exceeding the initial goal of $50,000. The funds raised will help the family cover funeral and memorial expenses, 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 ongoing 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 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 her 3-year-old son, parents, two younger siblings as well as, “an extended family, friends, and community who loved her so very much,” the GoFundMe reads.
“Imani had her whole life ahead of her. She was a vivacious, loving and fiercely talented person. A true triple-threat performer, she most notably played the role of Young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s Lion King — an experience that reflected the joy, creativity, and light she put into the world,” the GoFundMe reads.