Missing Na'Ziyah Harris: Trial date set for suspect Jarvis Butts

Jarvis Butts to stand trial in murder of Na'Ziyah Harris

A judge says there is enough evidence to send Jarvis Butts to trial after hearing four days of testimony in the case of Na'Ziyah Harris, who disappeared exactly one year ago from the preliminary hearing's conclusion.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Jarvis Butts, the man accused of sexually assaulting, kidnapping, and murdering 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris in Detroit, will face a jury later this year.

A trial date of Oct. 6 was set in court Friday.

Butts is facing charges of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive material.

What happened to Na'Ziyah Harris?

Harris was last seen getting off a bus in Detroit last January.

Her disappearance led to police searching areas around Southeast Michigan.

While Harris's body was never found, prosecutors charged Butts with murder and rape in September.

When announcing charges against the 41-year-old, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said evidence shows that Butts, who knew Harris' family members, allegedly groomed the girl starting in 2022. Harris was pregnant when she was killed, and Butts was allegedly the unborn child's father.

Na'Ziyah Harris disappearance timeline

The prosecutor's office provided a rough timeline of the day Harris disappeared.

Na’Ziyah took the school bus to school.
She had her hair in two braided puff balls, clear framed glasses, a white sweater with a black jacket over it, a colorful Rugrats puffy jacket, with a fur lined hood, with light blue jeans and Nike shoes.
There is video of Na’Ziyah getting on the school bus.
Na’Ziyah used a DPS issued tablet that she used to communicate and communicated with an app.
She took one last picture of herself on the tablet.
Using her tablet, she sent a message to a device associated with Butts, indicating that they would be meeting up after she got out of school that day.
There is video of her getting out of school at the end of the day in the same clothes.
She meets up with Butts and a co-worker and goes back to their auto repair shop on Connor in Detroit.
Na’Ziyah is seen by Butts’s sister at the shop.
Butts, the co-worker, and Na’Ziyah were together in the co-worker’s car when they went to Ypsilanti and then returned to the shop on Connor. Butts’s phone places him at these locations.
At 9:30 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. Butts checked in to a motel. There is a receipt confirming this as well as his phone placing him at that location.
Na’Ziyah is never seen again after January 9, 2024.

Other charges against Butts

Butts has also been charged with sexually abusing two other children who were under 13 at the time. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said one of the victims, who is now 20, was allegedly abused between April 2012 and April 14, while the other victim, who is now 11, was abused from July 2015 until July 2017.

He has been charged with five counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for those assaults.

Court records show that Butts also previously served time in prison for sexually assaulting a child in 2004.

"Mr. Butts targeted and befriended women to have sexual relationships with their young daughters," Worthy said. "He was a classic and expert groomer and pedophile."

He was bound over for trial in those two cases last November.

What's next:

Before his trial begins, Butts is due in court for a final conference on June 20.

The Source: Information from Wayne County's Third Circuit Court and previous reporting was used to write this story.