New Delhi, Dec. 27 -- Former Broadway performer Imani Dia Smith, best known for her portrayal of Young Nala in The Lion King, has been fatally stabbed at her home in Edison, New Jersey.

Smith, aged 25, was found with multiple stab wounds on 21 December 2025 and later pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, authorities confirmed.

Police arrested 35-year-old Jordan D. Jackson-Small in connection with the fatal stabbing. According to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Jackson-Small was taken into custody "without incident" and 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 unlaw...