When Na’Ziyah Harris went missing in January 2024, her family, friends, and Detroit community desperately tried to find her. As the days turned into weeks and then into months, the missing person search turned into a homicide case. Police eventually arrested Jarvis Butts, the father of Na’Ziyah’s cousins, and a habitual sex offender. How he abused Na’Ziyah was horrific, and a court sentenced him to 35 to 60 years in prison for her murder. He also faced additional sentences for other child sexual abuse charges.
Two weeks after sentencing, the Michigan Department of Corrections reportedly found him dead in prison from an apparent suicide. As part of his plea deal, Butts was supposed to reveal the location of Na’Ziyah’s body, but it’s unclear whether or not he actually did.
Butts was the last person with Na’Ziyah.
Click on Detroit reported that investigators believe Butts began abusing Na’Ziyah in 2022. He was originally due in court on a gun charge on January 9, 2024, the day Na’Ziyah went missing. Officials pushed the appearance back a month to February. Butts allegedly met Na’Ziyah at her bus stop and traveled to Ypsilanti before checking into a Detroit motel later that day.
Butts reportedly looked up abortions, abortion pills, and drinking red anti-freeze, knowing he’d gotten Na’Ziyah pregnant. No one ever saw her again.
Butts was a sick man.
According to court documents obtained by Click on Detroit, Butts had previous sex abuse charges against other young girls and a 2005 conviction for sexual assault. Prosecutors referred to him as a “serial child rapist” who sexually assaulted multiple family members, including an 8-year-old girl. He also reportedly raped his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter and gave the child chlamydia.
Attorneys struck a plea deal.
Police arrested Butts in connection with Na’Ziyah’s disappearance in September 2024. He faced charges in multiple sexual assault cases and Na’Ziyah’s murder, per Click on Detroit. In February 2026, just two weeks prior to the start of his scheduled trial, Butts entered a plea deal. As part of the agreement, he pleaded guilty to multiple sexual assaults and murder.
He faced 35 to 60 years in prison in Na’Ziyah’s case, with a condition that he had to disclose where authorities could find Na’Ziyah’s remains.
Police reportedly never found Na’Ziyah’s body.
Fox 2 reported that Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said finding Na’Ziyah’s remains was very important to her office.
“One of the most important aspects of the plea agreement was giving Na’Ziyah’s family some semblance of closure. The disclosure of the location of her body was crucial,” Worthy said.
USA Today reported Butts apparently shared the location of Na’Ziyah’s body, but the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office would not confirm whether they had her remains. Spokeswoman Maria Miller referred the outlet to the Detroit Police Department, which did not comment.
Butts reportedly died like a coward in prison.
After taking so much from so many, Butts apparently ended his life in the most cowardly way possible. The Michigan Department of Corrections shared the news in a statement obtained by Fox 2.
“MDOC staff provided life-saving measures, which were unsuccessful. The Michigan State Police have been called to the facility to investigate; the death is currently being reported as a suicide,” officials said.
We had no respect for Butts before this, but dying by suicide after committing such heinous crimes is such a cowardly move. Those families deserved so much more. He truly was rotten to the core.
