Disturbing Details Emerge in Case of Missing 13-Year-Old Harris: Suspect Arrested

Thirteen-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris has been missing for nine months, and the details surrounding her disappearance have taken a disturbing turn. Detroit police have arrested a suspect, 41-year-old Jarvis Butts, in connection with her vanishing, but the allegations against him are chilling.

Harris, a seventh-grader at J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy, was last seen getting off her bus on January 9 on the east side of Detroit. Prosecutors revealed that text messages between Harris and Butts, a man who had relations with her aunt, suggest that she met him at his auto repair shop after getting off the bus. Butts and a coworker then drove her to Ypsilanti, where Butts checked into a hotel alone, and Harris stopped responding to messages.

The next day, Harris was reported missing, and Butts was seen in the area where her clothes were eventually found. Prosecutors allege that Butts exploited, molested, and sexually abused Harris, who was pregnant with his child at the time of her disappearance. Evidence shows that Butts knew about her pregnancy and searched online for information about abortions and abortion pills.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated that the evidence heavily suggests Harris is deceased. Butts faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive material in connection to Harris’ disappearance and alleged murder. Additionally, Butts is accused of targeting other victims through a scheme to befriend women to gain access to their young daughters for sexual contact.

As Harris approaches her 14th birthday this month, the community continues to mourn her disappearance and seek justice for the young girl who was taken too soon.