Overview
- Police responded around 9:18 a.m. on Dec. 21 to a Grove Street residence in Edison and found Smith with stab wounds; she was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
- Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison has been arrested and charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and weapons offenses, with criminal proceedings pending.
- Investigators did not specify a relationship between Smith and the suspect, though relatives say Jackson-Small was her boyfriend.
- Smith played Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway from September 27, 2011, to September 23, 2012.
- A GoFundMe for funeral, legal, and care costs has raised about $43,000 toward a $50,000 goal, and Smith’s young son is currently with his grandparents.