Detroit man charged with murdering 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris highlights how society fails Black girls, Judge says 

Jarvis Butts, 42, who has been charged with kidnapping and murder has been ordered to stand trial a year after Na’Ziyah Harris went missing. Alarming text messages between the two reveal a disturbing exploitation of a young girl.
A year after 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris went missing from her school bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, a 42-year-old man has been charged with her kidnapping and murder and will stand trial.
On Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, Jarvis Butts, who has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive activity, was ordered to stand trial, CBS News reported. 
Na’Ziyah went missing on Jan. 9, 2024, when she was last seen leaving her school bus stop at the end of the school day. Her body has still not been recovered. Her grandmother, Annette Harris, recalled dropping her off at school that morning and searching through the neighborhood and at her school when she didn’t return home that afternoon. 
Butts had been the on-and-off-again boyfriend of the preteen’s aunt, Shannon Harris, who he shared five children with. Harris testified she didn’t suspect anything was going on between them beyond a standard niece-uncle relationship.
Text messages between Na’Ziyah and Butts read in court last week revealed the two had planned to meet up after school on the day of her disappearance, according to Fox 2 Detroit. The outlet reported Na’Ziyah had been deleting her correspondence with Butts.
Texts also showed that Na’Ziyah allegedly told Butts her period was late. Prosecutors said they also revealed Butts knew Na’Ziyah had gotten pregnant and previously had been accused of sexually abusing two girls as young as 8 and 4 years old, the latter of which he gave an STD.
Prosecutors argued on Thursday that they had “enough” evidence to charge Butts, per the outlets. Their evidence includes cell tracking data, her belongings found in areas linked to Butts, Google searches of abortion methods, and testimonies from Butts’ business partners and someone who claims to have seen Butts and Na’Ziyah together the day she went missing.
CBS News reported that over twenty witnesses, including experts, family members, and law enforcement officials, testified in court over the last four days.
The defense argued that there isn’t enough of a connection between the alleged evidence to suggest that Butts is responsible for Na’Ziyah’s death. However, Judge Aliyah Sabree found that there was enough for a jury trial. She has sent the case to the 3rd Circuit Court for trial.
“You’re the monster in this whole picture,” Sabree told Butts in court on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, per CBS News.
“[Na’Ziyah] did deserve love from her parents and everyone who was in her life,” the judge continued. “She was ignored. She was neglected, and you took complete advantage of that. She wanted someone to love her, and she will never know what that feels like. I pray for the healing of all the victims and the young girls, and possibly boys, who have come into contact with you.”
Butts has also been charged with the sexual abuse of two other girls in unrelated cases.
In her remarks, Sabree added a plea to the community to see this case as “a prime example” of how much more work needs to be done when it comes to protecting children, “especially Black girls.”
According to BraveHearts.org, signs of sexual abuse include children becoming quieter, changes in their sleeping or eating, regressive behaviors, and sharing knowledge of sexual information that is beyond their developmental stages.
To report sexual abuse or get help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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