Imani Dia Smith, a former child actor who voiced the character of Nala in Disney's The Lion King in Broadway, was stabbed to death at a New Jersey home on Sunday, December 21. Her boyfriend, Jordan D. Jackson-Small, has been charged with murder in Smith's death, prosecutors said Tuesday.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Smith, who was 25 at the time of her death, by her aunt in which the family alleges that Smith's boyfriend, Jordan D Jackson-Small "senselessly killed" her. Imani Dia Smith was the mother of a three-year-old daughter, the GoFundMe noted.
"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 stated, noting that the funds will go towards Smith's parents and her daughter.
Who Was Imani Dia Smith?
Imani Dia Smith is a former child actor who voiced the role of young Nala, the queen consort of Pride Rock, through her marriage to Simba. Smith played the character in the Broadway rendition of the Disney story.
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{{/usCountry}}Imani Smith was found with stab wound inside a residence in Edison, New Jersey. Middlesex Prosecutor’s Office said that she was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Jordan D. Jackson-Small was arrested "without incident," the prosecutor's office said. He faces 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 prosecutor's office said.
"Smith and Jackson-Small knew each other prior to the incident, thus it was not a random act of violence,” the prosecutor's statement read.