Imani Smith, who played Young Nala in Broadway’s production of The Lion King, died earlier this week in what authorities have described as an alleged homicide, the New Jersey County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Smith, 26, appeared in the Broadway production from 2011 to 2012.
Stabbing reported after 911 call
Police responding to a 911 call in Edison discovered stab wounds on Smith’s body, according to Deadline. She was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Boyfriend charged and arrested
Smith’s alleged boyfriend, Jordan D. Jackson-Small, has been charged in connection with her death and arrested.
According to the prosecutor’s office, “Smith and Jackson-Small knew each other prior to the incident.” In a GoFundMe post, Smith’s aunt, Kira Helper, said Jackson-Small was Smith’s boyfriend.
Charges filed against the accused
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, Deadline reported.
He was arrested “without incident” and is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Centre, according to Variety.
Family and fundraising effort
Smith is survived by her three-year-old son, her parents and two younger siblings.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched with a target of $80,000, of which more than $58,000 has been raised through 808 donations.
The fundraising page said the money is intended to “support Imani’s parents, Monique Rance-Helper and Rawni Helper, who are now facing the unimaginable”. It added that Smith’s parents are “grieving their daughter while stepping in to raise her young son and support their two other children.”
