Na’Ziyah Harris murder: Man charged in teenager’s disappearance in court Friday

DETROIT (FOX 2) – A man accused of murdering and sexually abusing a teenager is scheduled to appear in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing. FOX 2 will broadcast the hearing in the live player above.

Jarvis Butts, 41, of Highland Park, was charged with murder and first-degree sexual assault against Na’Ziyah Harris in September, more than nine months after the teenager’s disappearance.

She was last seen getting off the bus at Cornwall and Three Mile in Detroit on Jan. 9, but never made it home.

Although prosecutors believe the teenager is already dead, her remains have not been found. However, they are sure that Butts is behind her disappearance.

While his impeachment, he was also accused of sexually assaulting two other children, including his own daughter and the daughter of his ex-girlfriend.

“It’s disgusting, it’s vile. It’s worse than I thought,” Jarnell Holland, a member of Harris’ family, said after the hearing. “I’ve been trying to pay attention to him since 2022 and I didn’t realize it was this bad.”

Horrifying details revealed during Jarvis Butts’ arraignment

During the hearing, the accused remained silent, refraining from having the charges formally read at the hearing. His defense lawyer was already serving his sentence separately and did not oppose the prosecutor’s request to keep him in custody. He faces various sexual conduct charges in three separate cases.

Timeline of Na’Ziyah Harris’ disappearance

The prosecutor’s office provided an approximate timeline of the day Harris disappeared.

Na’Ziyah was going to school by school bus.
She had her hair tied into two braided down balls, clear-rimmed glasses, a white sweater with a black jacket, a colorful Rugrats down jacket with a fur-lined hood, light blue jeans, and Nike shoes.
There is video of Na’Ziyah boarding the school bus.
Na’Ziyah used a tablet issued by DPS, which she used to communicate with the application.
She took one last photo of herself on the tablet.
She used her tablet to send a message to a device associated with Butts, saying they would meet up that day after he got out of school.
There is a video of him leaving school at the end of the day wearing the same clothes.
He meets up with Butts and an associate, then returns to their auto repair shop on Connor in Detroit.
Butts’ sister sees Na’Ziyah in the store.
Butts, the co-worker, and Na’Ziyah were together in the co-worker’s car as they drove to Ypsilanti and then returned to the store on Connor. Butts’ phone puts him in these locations.
From 9:30 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. Butts checked into the motel. There is a receipt confirming this, as well as a telephone number pointing him to this location.
After January 9, 2024, Na’Ziyah was never seen again.