Edison man charged with stabbing, child endangerment

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
Edison man charged with stabbing, child endangerment

Arrest warrant for Jordan D. Jackson-Small. MIDDLESEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE/Arrest Warrant

EDISON, N.J., Jan. 7 (ZFJ) — Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, N.J., has been charged with the murder of Imani Smith, 26, of Edison on Dec. 21, 2025.

On Dec. 21, at 9:18 a.m., the Edison Police Department received multiple 911 calls, including one by Jackson-Small, reporting a stabbing that occurred in the Robert E. Holmes Gardens public housing complex on Grove Avenue.

Responding police officers found Smith with a stab wound to her neck, Jackson-Small, and a three-year-old child. According to the police’s probable cause affidavit, the child said that dad hurt mom and mentioned the word knife while in the presence of their maternal grandmother and officers.

Smith was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Witnesses who were outside after the stabbing told police that they saw a man outside yelling for help and saying that he did not mean to. They also saw a woman with a stab wound to her neck.

Police say that Jackson-Small told them in an interview that his child was present during the dispute that resulted in the mother being stabbed with a knife. He said that he did not realize what happened initially and that he did not mean to stab her. He said that she had her hand up, holding a knife which caused him to flinch or reflex, causing the stab wound. He said he called 911 and indicated that the blood on his hand was from applying pressure to the wound. He added that he had been recording the dispute on his phone.

The county medical examiner’s office performed an autopsy on Dec. 22, 2025, and found that the victim had sustained a stab wound larger than seven inches entering the left side of her neck area in a downward angle and striking her right lung and ribs, causing her right chest cavity to fill with blood.

Police conducted a forensic interview with the child, who stated daddy hit mommy’s face with a knife.

Police obtained a statement from the grandmother, who stated the child told her my daddy hit my mommy.

Jackson-Small was arrested 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 unlawful possession of a weapon. He was lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center.

A GoFundMe by Smith’s aunt identified Jackson-Small as Smith’s boyfriend and said that Smith had been a performer, having previously played Young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s The Lion King. The fundraiser has raised over $85,000 for Smith’s homegoing service, counseling for the family, and legal costs associated with Smith’s parents gaining custody of their grandson.

The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Kevin Kirsh of the Edison Police Department at (732) 718-8064 or Detective Olivia Ankudowicz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-8083.

The charges against Jackson-Small are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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