Convicted pedophile who murdered 13-year-old after sexually abusing, impregnating her found dead in Detroit prison

Jarvis Butts, 43, was discovered dead by suicide in his cell on Thursday morning, according to a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman who spoke to CBS News. Butts submitted a statement about the location of the body of the 13-year-old he murdered, Na'Ziyah Harris, at his sentencing.

"Me, as well as other family members and members of the public, have been waiting for two years now to know where Na'Ziyah is," Roxy, the teen's cousin, said. The 13-year-old girl was last seen on January 9, 2024 when she got off a bus stop in Detroit on the city's east side. Police were never able to find her body. Butts admitted on February 12, 2026 that he took her life after he impregnated the young girl.

Days before the murder, he had been searching for ways to end a pregnancy. “His phone records show that he searches online about abortions, abortion pills and drinking red anti-freeze,” prosecutor Kym Worthy revealed at trial.

In September 2023, Na’Ziyah allegedly texted Butts that she missed her period. Prosecutor said that in November, “the evidence shows Butts knows that she is pregnant.” Butts had previously fathered children with Na’Ziyah’s aunt. He started grooming the young girl in 2022.

“He was a classic and expert groomer and pedophile,” Worthy said. After the teen went missing, police were able to recover the clothes she was last seen wearing. As part of his guilty plea, Butts was required to tell prosecutors where her body was located.

Despite Butts killing himself, the police are committed to finding the teen’s remains. The predator has a long history of sexual abuse of minors. Another victim was sexually abused by him between 2012 and 2015 and the other between 2015 and 2017. He was convicted of sexual assault in 2005 in connection with two other young women.