DETROIT (Scripps News Detroit/Court TV) — Following a multi-day preliminary hearing, a judge has ordered the man accused of murdering 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris to stand trial.
Jarvis Butts, 41, is facing charges of murder and sex crimes after prosecutors say he groomed, sexually assaulted and impregnated the teen before killing her. Harris was last seen Jan. 9, 2024.
Before binding Butts over for trial, the judge spoke for more than 10 minutes, admonishing Butts and other adults who were in the courtroom. “Several people failed her,” The judge said. “I don’t know where her mother is. I don’t know anything other than she was forced to live at a whom where she was not protected.”
(L) Na’Ziyah Harris was last seen on Jan. 9, 2024. (NamUS) / (R) Jarvis Butts appears in court Jan. 8, 2025. (Court TV)
MORE | Man charged with impregnating, murdering 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris
Multiple witnesses took the stand this week, including Harris’ aunt, who was in a dating relationship with Butts and has five children with the defendant.
Shannon Harris testified that after her niece went missing, she found inappropriate Instagram messages between Na’Ziyah and Butts.
On Tuesday, Na’Ziyah’s cousin, who was 8 years old when she disappeared, recalled two separate occasions she said Butts took them and another child to the auto shop where he worked. The child said Butts had sex with Na’Ziyah on both occasions and that he had sex with another girl. She said Butts also tried to have sex with her on the second occasion, but she refused.
Law enforcement personnel have also testified about the search for Na’Ziyah, introducing evidence like her Nike gym shoes that were found discarded with some of her clothing in a wooded area.
Lead investigator Sgt. Shannon Jones testified Wednesday about the search for Na’Ziyah, and the red flags that stood out: “No. 1, she had never been missing before. There’s been no updates on any of her social media, which is very uncommon for a young child or a juvenile. They’re addicted to those. There had been a last known contact that she had possibly met somebody, is what we were informed, that there was a text message,” Jones explained.
Jones said investigators found questionable Google searches from December 2023 on electronic devices belonging to Butts, one month before Na’Ziyah disappeared. The searches included abortion methods and the Planned Parenthood website.
This story was originally published on Scripps News Detroit, an E.W. Scripps Company.
