Broadway star is found stabbed to death in New Jersey home as cops charge her boyfriend with murder
Former Broadway child star fatally stabbed, boyfriend charged with murder
- Imani Smith, a former Broadway actress who played Young Nala in “The Lion King,” was fatally stabbed in New Jersey.
- Police responded to a 911 call in Edison on December 21, where they found Smith with stab wounds; she was later pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
- Jordan D. Jackson Small, 35, was arrested without incident and charged with first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and weapon offenses.
- According to a statement from Smith's aunt, Smith and Small were dating, though investigators have not publicly shared a motive for the alleged killing.
- A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to cover funeral and memorial costs, family trauma therapy, legal fees and care for Smith's 3-year-old son and dog.