Jarvis Butts 'took coward's way out' with suicide says family of murdered Na'Ziyah Harris

Jarvis Butts dies in prison weeks after sentencing in Na'Ziyah Harris murder

Jarvis Butts, the man convicted of killing Na'Ziyah Harris and sexually assaulting multiple girls, has died while behind bars.

FOX 2 - Jarvis Butts, the man convicted of killing Na'Ziyah Harris and sexually assaulting multiple girls, has died while behind bars.

The backstory:

Two weeks ago, he was sentenced in the murder of Na'Ziyah Harris to 35-60 years in prison.

The location of her body is still a mystery.

The Michigan Department of Corrections confirmed that Butts died Thursday at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson. It is a prison in-take center, where the MDOC confirmed his body was found.

MDOC officials said his death is being investigated by Michigan State Police as a suicide.

"Him doing, you know, deciding to take his own life, it was unexpected literally two weeks after the sentencing," said Harris' cousin Roxy. "You know, he made his bed. He got to lay in it. I think it was a bit of a cowardly way out but he made his bed so he has to lay in it."

Two weeks ago, Butts was sentenced in the murder of 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris, sentenced to 35-60 years.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. As part of the plea deal, he was supposed to provide information as to where her body was. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says he did that.

Na'Ziyah Harris 

"MDOC staff provided life-saving measures which were unsuccessful. The Michigan State Police have been called to the facility to investigate; the death is currently being reported as a suicide," officials said in a statement.

Related: Jarvis Butts dies in prison weeks after sentencing for killing Na'Ziyah Harris

Harris was last seen in January 2024 and prosecutors say she met up with Butts the day she disappeared, and she was pregnant. Butts was allegedly the father.

Roxy spoke about the concerns the family still has.

"We ultimately, you know, want to still know where she is because we still don’t have those answers," she said. "You know, we just want to lay her to rest and things like that. So there’s still a lot of unanswered questions."

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The preliminary exam for Jarvis Butts, the man accused of kidnapping and killing 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris, continues Wednesday.

After Butts was charged with the murder of Harris, he was charged with varying degrees of sex crimes against five girls between the ages of 4 and 13. Those crimes happened before Harris' disappearance.

Jarvis Butts (MDOC)

Butts also has a previous sex crime conviction for an assault against a child.

The prosecutor's office says Butts provided information on where her body was and referred us to Detroit police.

FOX 2 contacted DPD for more information, but was told it is now investigating based on the information Butts provided before his death and following all leads.