Former Broadway Performer Stabbed to Death; Boyfriend Arrested

Imani Dia Smith, a 26-year-old former Broadway performer known for her role as Young Nala in The Lion King, was fatally stabbed in her Edison, New Jersey, home on December 21, authorities said.

Police responded to a 911 call at approximately 9:18 a.m. at a residence on Grove Avenue, where they found Smith suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she was pronounced dead later that day. The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office described the incident as targeted and not random, noting that Smith knew her alleged attacker.

On December 23, officials announced the arrest of 35-year-old Jordan D. Jackson-Small, identified by family members as Smith's boyfriend. He faces charges of 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. Jackson-Small was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending a pretrial detention hearing. Prosecutors emphasized that the charges are allegations and that he is presumed innocent...