Imani Dia Smith, known for playing Young Nala in Disney's popular The Lion King on Broadway, has died after being stabbed by her boyfriend. The actor was 25.
As per the Middlesex County, NJ, Prosecutor's Office, Imani died after being stabbed on December 21. The police in Edison, NJ, after responding to a 911 call, discovered the actress with stab wounds. She was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Imani's boyfriend, Jordan D Jackson-Small, was arrested following the incident and was 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, prosecutors said.
"Smith and Jackson-Small knew each other prior to the incident; thus, it was not a random act of violence," they added.
Imani Dia Smith is survived by her three-year-old son, her parents, her two younger siblings, her aunt and extended family and friends.
Smith's aunt, Kira Helper set up a GoFundMe page after her death to help support her parents raise her child and their two other children. The GoFundMe page had a target of raising $55,000. Within a few days, they were able to raise over $47,000.