Detroit man to serve up to 60 years in murder of 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris
A Detroit man will serve up to 60 years in prison on a second-degree murder charge involving the death of 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris, along with five separate sexual assault charges.
Jarvis Butts, who wore a green jail inmate uniform and a paper face mask over his nose and mouth, appeared on Thursday before Judge Nicholas J. Hathaway in the Wayne County Third Circuit Court. Several uniformed officers provided security in the courtroom, a situation that Hathaway pointed out before starting the hearing.
Hathaway issued a sentence that included 35 to 60 years in prison on the murder charge, with credit for time served. He was also sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison on the five criminal sexual conduct charges. All terms will be served concurrently, according to the previous plea agreement.
He also had agreed to "provide truthful statement regarding the body of Na'Ziyah Harris" as part of the plea.
Butts did not provide that statement during the public part of Thursday's hearing. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said such a statement was provided to authorities, but that information is not being released further.
"We are satisfied with the statement he has given," Worthy said.
The hearing started with a review of a pre-sentence report that included his background and family connections. A series of seven victim impact statements then proceeded, with speakers at times getting visibly emotional. There were also two separate instances of people being escorted out of the courtroom during the hearing after outbursts were heard from the audience gallery.
A relative of Harris was the first to speak, sobbing as she read her prepared remarks. While she was still seated in front of the microphone, someone could be heard in the visitor gallery yelling, "shut up!" Multiple people were escorted out of the room amid the commotion. An attorney then completed reading that woman's statement.
A second relative of Harris also started sobbing during her presentation.
The third person who took the stand said she did not have a prepared statement but had decided to address the court. She is a relative of Butts and said she doesn't understand how or why he began to act in the way that led to the charges.
The other speakers included one of the victims, and a relative of one of the victims
The overall theme from the remarks given by the Harris relatives focused on how the stress, financial impact and grief due to the loss impacted the entire family.
Na'Ziyah was last seen getting off a school bus on Jan. 9, 2024, in the area of Cornwall and Three Mile Drive in Detroit. Her body has never been found.
Butts pleaded guilty on Feb. 12 in an agreement that settled six separate cases, including the sexual assault of four different minors. As part of the plea agreement, additional charges of criminal sexual conduct will be dismissed.
Wayne County prosecutors had previously argued that Butts allegedly started exchanging sexually abusive texts with Harris as early as 2022.
"One of the most important aspects of the plea agreement was giving Na'Ziyah's family some semblance of closure," The disclosure of the location of her body was crucial. As a condition of his plea to the Second-Degree Murder case, Jarvis Butts was required to give a truthful statement regarding the body of Na'Ziyah Harris. We are satisfied with the statement he has given," Worthy said after the hearing.
