Tragic End for Broadway’s ‘Young Nala’: Imani Dia Smith Stabbed to Death at 25

​EDISON, N.J. — A community is in mourning following the violent death of Imani Dia Smith, a former Broadway child star who once graced the stage as Young Nala in Disney’s The Lion King. Smith, 25, was found fatally stabbed in an Edison residence just days before Christmas, leading to the arrest of her 35-year-old boyfriend.

​A Life Cut Short

​On Sunday, Dec. 21, at approximately 9:18 a.m., Edison police responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing at a home on Grove Avenue. Officers discovered Smith suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she was tragically pronounced dead.

​Authorities were quick to clarify that the incident was not a random act. Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan confirmed that Smith and the suspect, Jordan D. Jackson-Small, were in a relationship at the time of the attack.

​Legal Action and Heartbreak

​Jackson-Small was arrested without incident on Tuesday, Dec. 23. He faces a litany of serious charges, including:

• ​First-degree murder
• ​Second-degree endangering the welfare of a child
• ​Third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
• ​Fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon

​The charge of child endangerment has struck a particularly somber chord, as Smith was the mother of a 3-year-old son. Jackson-Small is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending a pre-trial detention hearing.

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​Remembering a “Triple-Threat” Talent

​Imani Dia Smith was a celebrated performer who appeared in the Broadway production of The Lion King from September 2011 to September 2012. Her aunt, Kira Helper, described her as a “vivacious, loving, and fiercely talented” individual who embodied the light of the stage.

​The tragedy hits the Broadway community twice as hard; Smith’s mother, Monique Rance-Helper, is a prominent hair and wig stylist for major productions, including The Lion King, In the Heights, and Pose.

​A GoFundMe campaign established by the family has already raised over $64,000. The funds are intended to cover funeral costs, trauma therapy for the family, and the long-term care of Smith’s young son and her dog.