Jarvis Butts Dies in Prison Weeks After Na’Ziyah Harris Murder Sentence

Jarvis Butts, 43, has died while in custody, sources confirmed. Authorities have not disclosed a cause of death.

Sentence and convictions

Butts pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris. He was sentenced two weeks earlier to 35 to 60 years behind bars.

He also received five additional 10-to-15-year terms for sexually assaulting children. Prosecutors had charged him with sex crimes involving five girls aged four to 13.

Details of the Harris case

Harris was last seen getting off a bus in Detroit in January 2024. Wayne County prosecutors say text messages show she met with Butts the day she disappeared.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy said evidence indicated grooming began in 2022. Investigators also allege Harris was pregnant when she was killed, and that Butts was the father.

Prosecutors reported searches by Butts for abortion methods, abortion pills, and references to drinking red antifreeze. Harris’s body has not been recovered.

As part of his plea, Butts was required to disclose the location of her remains. Worthy said that disclosure was essential to give the family some measure of closure.

Incarceration and reported death

The Michigan Department of Corrections inmate tracker showed Butts in processing at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center. He died while still in state custody.

This development — Jarvis Butts dying in prison just weeks after the murder sentence — has renewed attention to the case. Officials have not released further details.

Background convictions

Butts had a prior sex crime conviction for an assault against a child. The newer charges included offenses that occurred before Harris’s disappearance.

Filmogaz.com will update this story as officials provide more information.