A Michigan man, aged 41, has been arrested by authorities on suspicion of killing a 13-year-old girl, believed to be pregnant with his child. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, under the leadership of Kym Worthy, has leveled charges of first-degree murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and possession of child sexually abusive material against Jarvis Butts. These charges are connected to the disappearance and presumed death of Na’Ziyah Harris in Detroit.
Na’Ziyah was reported missing by her grandmother on January 9 when she didn’t return home from school. The last known sighting of her was when she disembarked from the school bus near her home on the city’s east side. Further investigations unveiled that she had rendezvoused with Butts after school, who was later spotted checking into a local hotel that evening.
Since that day, Na’Ziyah has not been seen or heard from, as stated by Worthy. Despite her active social media engagement and strong ties with family and friends, there has been no communication from her. Her social media accounts have remained inactive, and she has not returned to school or contacted any family or friends. She also did not celebrate her 14th birthday on September 16.
In the subsequent months, an extensive investigation was carried out into Na’Ziyah’s disappearance. This included reviewing surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and scrutinizing phone records. Although Na’Ziyah’s body has not been discovered, authorities are confident that she is deceased based on the evidence collected.
The investigation also disclosed that Butts had started grooming Na’Ziyah in 2022 and began sexually assaulting her shortly thereafter. In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Na’Ziyah found out she was pregnant and informed Butts, who was identified as the father. Worthy stated that Butts was exploring options for her to have an abortion. Police also discovered sexually explicit photos of her on his phone.
Further probes into Butts’ history revealed that he had allegedly targeted other young girls. He has been charged in connection with two other cases involving girls under the age of 13. Butts is accused of sexually abusing a girl, now 20, between 2012 and 2014, and another girl, now 13, between 2015 and 2017. He faces charges of criminal sexual conduct in both cases.
Worthy noted that Butts had a pattern of befriending women to gain access to their young daughters. He had previously fathered children with Na’Ziyah’s aunt. Butts, a convicted sex offender, has been in jail since August on an unrelated charge. He is due to be arraigned on the new charges on Friday.