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

DETROIT (FOX 2) – The man accused of killing and sexually assaulting a teenager is expected to appear in court on Friday for a preliminary examination. FOX 2 will broadcast the hearing in the live player above.

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

He was last seen getting off the bus at Three Mile in Cornwall and Detroit on January 9, but was unable to return home.

Although prosecutors believed the teenager was no longer alive, they were unable to find his body. But they are certain Butts is behind her disappearance.

During his trial, He was also accused of sexually assaulting two children, including his own daughter and his ex-girlfriend’s daughter.

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

Na’Ziyah Harris’ disappearance timeline

The prosecution gave a rough timeline of the day Harris disappeared.

• Na’Ziyah got on the school bus to go to school.
• Her hair was in a double braided bun, clear-rimmed glasses, a white sweater with a black jacket over it, a colorful puffy Rugrats jacket with a fur-lined hood, light blue jeans, and Nike shoes.
• There is video of Na’Ziyah getting on the school bus.
• Na’Ziyah used a DPS-issued tablet, which she used to communicate and communicate with an app.
• He took one last photo on the tablet.
• Using her tablet, she sent a message to a device associated with Butts, stating that they would meet after school that day.
• There’s a video of him leaving school at the end of the day wearing the same clothes.
• He meets up with Butts and a co-worker and returns to Connor’s auto body shop in Detroit.
• Na’Ziyah is seen in the shop by Butts’ sister.
• Butts, his co-worker, and Na’Ziyah were in the co-worker’s car together when they drove to Ypsilanti and returned to the store in Connor. Butts’ phone places him in these locations.
• Between 21.30 and 12.20 Butts checked into a motel. He has a receipt confirming this, as well as his phone, which placed him at that location.
• Na’Ziyah will never be seen again after January 9, 2024.