Detroit Man Dies in Prison After Admitting to Murder of 13-Year-Old Girl
A man from Detroit, who had confessed to murdering the 13-year-old girl he raised and impregnated, has taken his own life in federal prison shortly after completing a lengthy sentence.
Jarvis Butts, 43, was discovered dead in his cell at the Charles Egerer Reception and Instruction Center in Jackson on Thursday morning, according to a statement from the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Despite attempts by guards to provide life-saving assistance, they were unable to revive him.
Authorities are treating his death as an apparent suicide, with Michigan State Police investigating the circumstances.
In February, Butts had pleaded guilty to the murder of 13-year-old Nazia Harris in 2024 and was sentenced on March 12 to a prison term of 35 to 60 years.
The last recorded sighting of Harris was on January 9, 2024, when she disembarked from a bus on the east side of Detroit.
During the sentencing, Wayne County Prosecutor Kim Worthy mentioned that Harris had intended to meet Butts the same day, as revealed by text messages.
Butts had allegedly impregnated Harris prior to the murder and was actively searching online for abortion options in the weeks leading up to the crime.
Worthy noted, “His phone records indicate he was looking up information about abortion and even how to consume red antifreeze.”
In September 2023, Harris reportedly informed Butts via text that she had missed her period. Evidence suggests that by November, he was aware of her pregnancy.
Butts, who already had a child with Harris’s aunt, was said to have subjected the young girl to manipulative behavior. Prosecutors indicated he began grooming her in 2022.
“He was a typical professional groomer and pedophile,” Worthy commented during the charges.
Police were able to trace Butts to the Rouge River in Detroit following Harris’s disappearance, later recovering some of his clothing in the vicinity.
Even after his guilty plea, Harris’s remains have never been found. Butts was obligated to disclose their location as part of his plea agreement.
Roxie Harris, a cousin of the victim, expressed to CBS News the family’s ongoing frustration: “My family and I, along with the public, have been waiting for two years to discover where Naziyah is.”
Despite Butts’ death, Detroit police emphasized their dedication to locating Harris’s body.
In addition to the murder charge, Butts received an extra 10 to 15 years for sexually assaulting two girls under 13 years old, with the abuse spanning several years for both victims.
Worthy noted that one victim endured abuse from 2012 to 2015, while the other did from 2015 to 2017. Butts had a prior conviction for similar offenses in 2005.
