Cousin testifies against suspect in murder of Na'Ziyah Harris sexually assaulted teen
(CBS DETROIT) — A preliminary examination for a man charged in the murder of missing 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris continued Tuesday.
Jarvis Butts, 42, of Detroit, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and child sexually abusive activity.
Na'Ziyah was last seen getting off her school bus at the corner of Cornwall and Three Mile Drive in Detroit on Jan. 9, 2024. Her body has not been found.
Butts, who dated Na'Ziyah's biological aunt, is accused of sending sexually explicit text messages in September 2022 and having an inappropriate relationship with the teen. According to phone records, he became aware in November 2023 that Na'Ziyah was pregnant.
Eight witnesses, including Na'Ziyah's grandmother and aunt, testified Monday during a preliminary exam. Na'Ziyah's aunt, Shannon Harris, testified that she did not suspect anything beyond a normal uncle-niece bond between Butts and Na'Ziyah.
On Tuesday, one of Na'Ziyah's young cousins testified about being in the room with another cousin while Butts took advantage and had sex with Na'Ziyah. The cousin says it was the first time she witnessed Butts coercing sex on her cousins. She testified that he tried to make advances toward her at one point, but she was able to say no after recognizing what he was trying to do.
The teen's adult cousin, Roxy, described seeing Butts in court and hearing the allegations.
"I don't have nice words necessarily for that, but obviously I have to be strong for my family. I have to be strong for Na'Ziyah, and I'm putting my trust in the justice system," Roxy told CBS News Detroit.
Additionally, an expert in phone record forensics and cell tower mapping presented a timeline of where they tracked Butts' phone between the time Na'Ziyah went missing and the following 36 hours.
The expert testified that data showed Butts' phone sometime after 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2024, at his shop on Conners Street. Between that time and a little before 7:30 p.m., the data showed the phone's location heading to Ypsilanti, consistent with what one witness testified on Monday about seeing Na'Ziyah with Butts. Further analysis showed more activity from his cell phone near his shop once again between 8:22 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Jan. 9.
The expert then testified that Butts' phone activity showed near the Parkcrest Inn in Harper Woods. Two witnesses on Monday testified that Butts would allegedly take women there to have sex.
Another exhibit showed Butts' phone activity between 11:40 p.m. on Jan. 10 and 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 11 near the area of Seven Mile and Berg roads. It is the same location where crews searched for Ni'Ziyah's body. They never found her, but they did find a jacket, pink onesie, and black Nike shoes that matched what witnesses described the teen wearing when she went missing.
"We were responding to a missing person," border patrol agent Wyatt Barnes told the court on Tuesday. "I was searching the river bank of River Rouge. We were searching south along the bank. I was on the east side of the bank in the Seven Mile and Berg area."
Butts has also been charged with the sexual abuse of two other girls in separate cases.
A full day of witness testimony is expected on Wednesday before a judge determines whether the case will proceed to trial.
