Detroit Man Arrested, Charged With Killing Missing Teenager Na’Ziyah Harris

Jarvis Butts, 41, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive activity.

An arrest has been made in connection to a teenage girl from Detroit who went missing in January. Jarvis Butts, 41, has been charged with the killing of 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, The Detroit News reports. Authorities also say that Butts impregnated Harris.

Butts, who lives in Detroit, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive activity. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

CHARGED ⚖️
Following an investigation by the Detroit Police Department (DPD), the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Jarvis Ramon Butts, 41, of Detroit with the homicide of Na’Ziyah Harris, (cont.) pic.twitter.com/qMR5cpe5Iy

— Detroit Police Department (@detroitpolice) September 27, 2024

Prosecutors are also charging Butts with the sexual assaults of two other girls: Four counts of sexual assault of a woman who is currently 20 years old but was underaged when he allegedly assaulted her between 2012 and 2014, and sexual assault of a girl who is now 13 years old from 2015 to 2017.

Harris, a seventh grader at the J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy, got off a school bus January 9 but never returned home. Her body has yet to be found. Butts, who had children with the victim’s aunt, met up with Butts, text messages revealed. The meeting took place that day after school at Butts’ auto repair shop in Detroit.

Harris and Butts were seen together by several people who were close to Butts, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at a press conference on Sept. 26.

Butts, a coworker, and Harris went to Ypsilanti in the coworker’s car and then returned to the auto shop, according to the prosecutor’s office. Later that night, Butts checked into a hotel at 9:30 p.m. by himself. He was seen on Jan. 10 in the Rouge River area in Detroit. The clothes Harris had on were found in that area, according to prosecutors.

Butts exploited, molested, and sexually abused Harris, who was pregnant with his child at the time that she died, according to Worthy. In September 2022, Butts allegedly sent her sexually explicit texts while she sent him sexual photos of herself. She texted him in September 2023 that she did not have her period. Butts allegedly knew of her pregnancy in November 2023.

“The evidence in this case will clearly show that the defendant’s alleged actions were beyond predatory. They were vulturous—he groomed and preyed upon Na’Ziyah with expertise. We will prove that he killed young Na’Ziyah after he found out she was pregnant at 13 with his child,” Worthy said in a written statement.