She Was Pregnant and Afraid—Then Investigators Uncovered the Uncle’s Dark Secret
When talking about an emerging case, it can be very difficult to keep the facts straight. It’s natural for anyone with information to go on social media and tell the world what they know. It can be difficult for some people to sift through all the noise between facts and rumors.
Some people would tell you that these cases should never be talked about until they’re resolved. But as it pertains to a case that needs signal boosting, especially one where the victim has yet to be found, I think speaking about it is necessary. And many of you have reached out asking for us to shine a light on this one. Because of this, we’ll be largely sticking to official sources today while the investigation is ongoing.
This is a story that needs to be told about a poor girl who has been missing for over a year. Please stick with us while we tell you about Naziah Harris. Niah Harris was born on September 16th, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. From the outside, she lived a fairly normal life. She was a straight A student at J. E.
Clark Preparatory Academy. Like many girls her age, she was active on social media, especially Tik Tok. According to the Sevenmile Radio podcast, Naziah’s birth was the product of a workplace affair. Her father, Mvin Jennings, was married at the time, and he and his wife were going through a rough patch heightened by his alcoholism.
Naziah’s mother, Shantel, was also using drugs at the time and was considered a party girl. According to Mvin, the pair signed away their parental rights to Naziah’s maternal grandmother, Annette Harris. He said that he did this to protect his wife’s feelings as well as to make sure that Annette was able to get the assistance she needed to care for Naziah.
Mvin claimed that he visited Nziah when he could and even provided support for his young daughter. Allegedly, he lost contact with Naziah and Annette when they moved away during one of his many medical procedures. According to Mvin, he had a heart condition that required surgery. At the time of our story, 13-year-old Niah and Annette lived together in Detroit.
She was a beautiful young girl who often wore her dark hair and braids. But despite outward appearances, Naziah’s life was far from normal, and she was in an incredibly dangerous situation. Niah’s aunt, Shannon Harris, had a relationship with a man named Jarvis Buts. Now, Jarvis had a history of predatory behavior with women and young girls.
He would find women with young daughters and then build a relationship with them over time. Then he would prey upon the minors and tell them to keep it a secret. He himself had fathered multiple children, including Naziah’s young cousins. The earliest instance of this behavior was in 2005, which he was subsequently convicted for.
He was released from jail. He was put on the registry. 2012 to 2014, he targeted a child between 8 and 10 years old. His third victim was between four and six years old when he did the same to her. From 2015 to 2017, Jarvis infected this girl with chlamydia. Some sources state that she was his biological daughter, and others claim that she was the daughter of his girlfriend at the time.
Niah was Jarvis’s fourth victim, and she was 11 when he began assaulting her. Some family members didn’t want him around Nziah for obvious reasons. His reputation preceded himself, but their warnings went unheard. Between 2015 and 2022, Jarvis has had at least five CPS reports made against him detailing inappropriate conduct with children.
Shannon was aware of these reports and even confided in other family members. Two of these reports were made by a pair of her relatives. The first was Janelle Smith Holland, who was said to be Shannon’s aunt and Nia’s great aunt. During a birthday party in February of 2022, Jarvis lured Naziah and another unnamed minor girl into an isolated place and assaulted them.
Janelle learned about the attack from Shannon and urged her niece to make a CPS report. Shannon said she would, so Janelle trusted that all would be taken care of, but it wasn’t. In April, Janelle contacted CPS herself to report the incident at the birthday party. Shannon was subsequently contacted about her children’s safety and for Jarvis’s information.
Another relative, Kiwana Morton, made her own report after speaking with Shannon about Jarvis. Kiwana reported potential inappropriate behavior within the family and made a point to mention Jarvis by name. He was interviewed for these accusations, which he denied. He also spoke with the unnamed girl in Kuana’s report and searched the home.
However, nothing else came from either of these reports. Later questioned by the press, CPS didn’t provide any insight of further action taken to protect Naziah or of their investigation of Jarvis. Like in many preventable cases we’ve covered, it seems as if the information was recorded, filed away, and forgotten about.
While at least some steps were taken for the unnamed girl in Kiwana’s report, none were taken for Nisiah. CPS did alert the Detroit Police Department about concerns for her safety, but they didn’t follow up. Between 2023 and 2024, Shannon and Jarvis had broken things off. He was still in her life as the father of her children and by extension in Nziah’s life, too.
And to be clear, we have heard accounts that he was referring to Naziah as his niece even after the fact. Despite quickly moving on and even becoming engaged to another woman, he continued to see Naziah in secret. On January 9th, 2024, Naziah stepped off her school bus on Cornwall Street in 3M Drive. She was never seen by her family again.
CCTV caught footage of Naziah getting on the school bus in the morning and leaving her campus later that day. Her bus driver saw her get off at her usual stop. Earlier that day, Naziah used her schoolisssued tablet to message Jarvis. The text read as follows. Don’t forget, be there before 3.
I will let you know when I’m leaving the school. If you’re not there, I will wait. She followed up with, send okay if you see the message so I can delete your number. Jarvis replied, okay. Niah also took this picture of herself, which be the last picture of her taken alive. Annette Harris reported her granddaughter missing the following day on January 10th.
She was and still is criticized for her delay in taking action, but she wouldn’t be the only one. The Detroit Public Schools Community District tried handling the investigation on their own. They thought it was just a teenage runaway case and that they could get Naziah home by themselves. School resource officer Derek Wolf was assigned to the case.
Annette was puzzled as to how Naziah could disappear between her school bus stop and her front door, as the bus stop was only a short walk from her house. On February 13th, the community district turned to the Detroit Police Department when they realized it was beyond their expertise.
Mind you, it took an entire month for this change to happen. Investigators spoke to Naziah’s friends and classmates, hoping to gain some kind of lead. But the students that knew her well did not share anything useful at first, but eventually their silence broke. It’s unclear how much Nazia confided in her friends. According to Chief of Public Safety Lab Jackson, sometimes they may think they’re helping a friend by withholding information, but they’re not.
The initial roadblock was a lack of cooperation by the students. She had told them that she planned on running away, but her classmates didn’t tell us that initially. I don’t know if they’re being totally forthcoming now. Kids are extremely loyal to each other. With police searching for Naziah, Annette told reporters, “I want my baby home and I’m asking in the name of Jesus and I stand on my faith that he’s going to bring her home.
And we’re asking anybody that has any information, any information, I don’t care who it is, please come forth, contact the police department. her life could be in danger. We can’t rule anything out, you know, and I’m hoping and praying that that is not the case. I’m standing on my faith that God is going to bring my baby home.
But, um, it’s been really rough, you know, footage of her getting on the school bus and the bus driver did say that she did get off at her regular stop. Okay. Um, and she was supposed to been coming home like she normally do every day. When a child is missing, you got to look everywhere. Um, I had no idea that it was going to be here.
I was just told that this is where it was going to be. Naziah needs to be home with her family and we love her. So, if you are hiber, there is a law for that and I’m asking that whoever whoever has any information about my granddaughter to please contact the police. Please. Police quickly learned that Naziah was not the type to go MIA.
She had no unexcused absences from school and she was very active on social media. For her to go completely silent like this was completely out of character. On February 20th, the Detroit police released a missing person’s flyer on their Facebook page that described Naziah as being 5’2 and 130 lb. She was last seen wearing clear frame glasses, a white sweater, a black jacket or hoodie, a pink and white Rugrats coat with a fur collar, light blue denim jeans, and blue and white Nike gym shoes.
At the time she disappeared, Nziah was wearing her hair in two braided puff balls, which can also be seen in her last selfie. On February 14th, the police performed a grid search in Aziah’s neighborhood within a four mile radius from her home, even handing out flyers to neighbors and bringing out K-9 units.
Active gang members and people who wouldn’t normally be collaborating with police were out in full force participating in these searches. The chief of public safety was hopeful they could bring her home alive and well. But in his words, “We can’t operate on hope and we have to operate on information.
” Now, before Naziah went missing, her father Mvin suffered a stroke made worse by his chronic heart condition. He was hospitalized when he learned that his daughter was reported missing. It said that he and his wife Nikia were among the people out searching for Naziah on the days his condition allowed. Mvin said in an interview, “Some people don’t even know me and they coming out.
They came up to see me at the hospital. Uh they asked me some questions about uh my daughter. Have I seen her? And I haven’t seen my daughter. You have moments in your life where you do think you’re standing alone. Nia’s disappearance caused a divide in her family. Some relatives were upset that Jarvis was allowed to be so close to Naziah, especially unsupervised.
In my opinion, he shouldn’t have been allowed near her at all. Detective Jason Maize and his partner interviewed Jarvis Butts on February 15th as he was already in the Wayne County Jail on unrelated charges. He claimed he hadn’t seen Naziah since late December to early January and said they were both in her grandmother’s home.
He was also asked about texts between them. Jarvis also told investigators Naziah often came to the auto shop he worked at to visit his daughter. Jarvis was asked about what his day was like on January 9th and he said he had some criminal charges to take care of. This was somewhat true. He had criminal charges filed against him for carrying a concealed weapon and his new fiance had taken him to the police station so he could turn himself in.
However, the date he was supposed to turn himself in had been pushed back to February. While incarcerated, he called a coworker and asked them to retrieve his phone as he had left it in a truck and wanted to get it before the police did. On March 6, investigators brought their search efforts to a pond near the intersection of Gradiott Avenue in Quinn Road in Clinton Township, just behind a shopping center.
It was thought Naziah could be there or that they could find evidence of her being there. However, their initial search did not yield any results. On March 7th, a woman named Valerie Smith called the Detroit Police Department with evidence. For two weeks, Valerie walked past a lost school ID card. One day she picked it up and recognized Naziah’s face immediately.
March 12th, US Border Patrol agent Wyatt Barnes located discarded clothing in the area of 7M and Berg near the Rouge River. He found a shoe, a pair of pink overalls, a black hoodie with a set of headphones in its pocket, and a towel. One article of clothing was reported to be damaged in some way, pointing to some kind of altercation.
Later come out that there was blood evidence found on it. However, there were no major updates after March. It took until August 15th for more updates to be made to the public, including background information and a timeline of events from January 9th. When Nia got off the school bus, she met Jarvis and one of his co-workers, and they took her to the auto shop.
According to reports, Jarvis’s sister was in the building at the time. She saw Naziah, but didn’t say anything to her. Jarvis, Naziah, and the co-orker later went to Ipsellani before returning to the auto shop. Jarvis rented a room at the Park Crest Motel from 9:30 p.m. on January 9th to 12:20 p.m. on the 10th.
The workers at the front desk would later provide these records to the police. Jarvis’s phone was tracking his location during this entire period and placed him near the Rouge River on January 10th after Nziah went missing and before her clothes were found. Investigators found many text messages between Naziah and Jarvis of an explicit nature which we’re not going to read for you.
Some of these messages included pictures. By going through the messages, police found a potential motive. On September 26th, 2023, Naziah told Jarvis she had missed her period. She had taken a pregnancy test before and it had come back negative, but she needed to test again and didn’t have the money to buy another.
She told Jarvis, “You ain’t scared to get a plan B. Get a pregnancy test and bring it later today and just act like you have to use the bathroom.” On November 27th, Naziah texted Jarvis and said, “I just want to talk. I really don’t want to lose you. Can we talk later? Yes or no? I don’t know what your problem, but I need you to bring me what I need tonight.
It’s hard doing all this gym with this baby, and if I don’t do them, I’m going to get an F. During this time, Jarvis’s search history recorded him researching how to terminate a pregnancy, both through medical means and through more unsafe methods. One specific result investigators found involved drinking red antifreeze.
Evidence from Naziah’s devices suggested she was also conducting similar searches. On August 15th, the Detroit Police Department submitted an arrest warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Not long after Jarvis was arrested. At first, it was thought that the arrest was tied to Nai’s disappearance, but this wasn’t the only reason.
Prosecutor’s office was building its case against Jarvis for all his past assaults against children. On September 26th, the Detroit Police Department announced that they were pivoting from a missing person’s investigation to a homicide investigation. Although her physical body was never recovered, the police and the prosecutor’s office felt there was enough evidence to show that Naziah was no longer alive.
Prosecutor Kim Worthy said in a statement, “The evidence in this case will clearly show that the defendant’s alleged actions were beyond predatory. They were vulturous. He groomed and prayed upon Nziah with expertise. Will prove that he killed young Naziah after he found out she was pregnant at 13 with his child. That same month, Prosecutor Worthy addressed the public in a press conference where she summarized the investigative efforts and the plans moving forward.
She also gave a warning to any parents that were listening to her. We all must we must be very careful who we let into our hearts and our homes and our lives. Especially if you have children. We must be very careful who we have around our children and elders respectively. We must also be very careful who we leave our children with.
Even if they even if even if they are in a relation relationship partners, family and friend. I’ll say that again. Even if they are relationship partners, families or friends. Life can be hard enough at times, but when it comes to our children, we must be deliberative. We must be diligent and laser focused on their safety.
And sometimes we must sometimes we must make decisions about them and their lives that we may not like and that they may not like, but it’s for the betterment of them and their safety and their future. When something doesn’t feel right, even if it’s just that voice in your head, it usually isn’t right. And sometimes when we are attentive and we do everything right by our children, things can still happen and still very go very wrong despite our best efforts.
This can happen to good watchers of children. But we must always ask ourselves at the end of each and every day. Was I right by each member of my household in terms of their safety? Did I do right by my children? On September 27th, Jarvis was charged with firstdegree premeditated murder, child essay activity, and seconddegree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13.
There were also additional charges filed for acts of essay he committed before praying on Isaiah. Jarvis was held in jail until his preliminary hearing on October 10th where he was brought before Judge Aaliyah Sabri. In light of the danger he posed to the community, Jarvis was denied bond and was also charged as a fourth time offender.
Naziah’s paternal aunt, Tiffany Jennings, stayed out of the public eye until after Jarvis’s arrest. She was asked by reporter Sha Lei who was responsible for protecting Naziah from Jarvis. To which she said, “Oh, what a loaded question, right Sean?” In my personal opinion, with no affiliation, there are multiple parties involved as many have already stated.
Um, and I just have to hold on to hope that the entire truth will come to light. This is the beginning of the truth and we’re very grateful for this part, but the entire story will come out. Naziah was only beginning to repair her relationship with her father and her paternal family by extension. But in this interview, Tiffany implies that those closest to Naziah had a hand directly or indirectly in everything that happened to her.
Naziah’s family members were in the courtroom audience throughout the legal proceedings that took place between November 1st, 2024 and January 6, 2025. Prosecution not only focused on Isaiah, but on the other girls Jarvis targeted as well. Now 20 and 13 years old, two of Jarvis’s prior victims took the stand. Jarvis’s coworker, Cordell King Wright, who was also incarcerated at the Wayne County Jail for unrelated charges, was brought in as a witness.
He testified that he and Jarvis had picked Naziah up on their way back from AutoZone and brought her back to the auto shop on the 9th. He said he did not see her after that day. Jarvis’s sister, Tijuana Buts, also testified that she was at the auto shop on January 9th and saw a little girl getting in and out of Jarvis’s white Cadillac Escalade.
She later realized that this little girl was Naziah. Yana also was able to identify some of the clothes that Naziah was wearing that day. Jarvis’s former fiance, Tashiana Davis, was among the prosecution’s witnesses. As we mentioned earlier, she was his ride to the police station when he had to turn himself in. She testified he was always protective of his phone because he was a habitual cheater.
She stayed with him despite these affairs because she saw him as good with kids. Yes, you heard that correctly. In addition, one of Jarvis’s former girlfriends said he borrowed her car on January 9th. When she got the car back, she found a pair of glasses inside. They were identical to the set Naziah often wore.
Testimonies from investigators furthered the case against Jarvis. The text messages between Naziah and Jarvis were presented in court. The earliest were dated back to September of 2022. Naziah would have only been 12 years old. In one exchange, Jarvis visited the Harris house when no one was home. He told Naziah he left with a pair of her underwear.
He solicited Naziah for explicit pictures of herself, made sexual advances, and guilt tripped her when she wouldn’t do what he wanted. In the end, Judge Aaliyah Sabria had harsh words for Jarvis and everyone that failed Niah. Stand up. You’ve been sitting over there for four days with your head down, hitting between and behind your attorneys with your mask on and taking vigorous notes.
I want you to pay attention and listen to everything I have to say. I have been trying to figure out for the last 5 days you at one point I thought you were cognitively impaired in the beginning of the exam and that maybe you had the brain of a 10-year-old and that’s why you were doing such things. But as I’ve heard more and more testimony, you are just the true definition of a watching you laugh and brag about all the women you have with ch with different women and the children, the girlfriends and making babies to groom
them and having them in your presence and cleaning up quote cleaning up your shop and the little girls around you has landed you here today. You groom. You play my game with her. We all heard that. You controlled her emotionally. She was exposed to so much at such a young young age.
The text messages between you two were disgusting to hear. And to think that she had you saved in her phone as a bay for life. Naziah deserves so much more. And while I mentioned other people that failed her driver’s butts, you were the monster in this whole picture. She did deserve love from her parents and everyone who was in her life. She was ignored.
She was neglected. And you took complete advantage of that. She wanted someone to love her. And she will never know what that feels like. Your children deserve more. As much as defense council has raised issues on count one, all that has done is raised the question of fact for the tri fact, which means that this will be for a jury or a judge to hear in third circuit.
I pray for the healing of all the victims and the young girls and possibly boys who have come into contact with you. As a community, we should look at this case as a prime example of how much work we have to do when it comes to protecting our children and especially our black girls. I pray for closure and healing for all those who have been traumatized by you.
And for you, George, I wish you a speedy trial and that justice be delivered. Detroitbased rap artist Trayvon Gardner, known professionally as Skilaby, followed Naziah Harris’s story. The news broke that Naziah was officially declared dead. Skilaby mourned her loss, made a post on his Instagram where he announced that he was willing to cover the entire cost of a memorial service for Naziah.
His account still exists, but it’s been wiped of all activity. There are still some screenshots of this particular post. Naziah’s cousin Roxy confirmed that many celebrities, including Skila Baby, had reached out to her. She told reporters, “My goal was to make sure Naziah Harris’s story reached worldwide, and it reached worldwide because this isn’t only happening in the city of Detroit, but it’s happening everywhere.
” Now, more women and more young girls are speaking up. And that was my ultimate goal for not only Nziah to get justice, for every young girl and every young woman who has ever been sexually abused to get justice. In addition, Mark DeAndre of the Sevenmile Radio podcast used his platform to help spread Naziah’s story across Detroit as early as February of 2024.
Mark interviewed family members during his live segments, including Naziah’s biological father, Mvin Jennings. At first, Mark worked closely with Nisiah’s cousin, Roxy, but Mark and Roxy parted ways in January of 2025. She shared the following post on her Facebook account, which reads in part, “I regret to inform you all with a very heavy heart that I’m no longer associated or part of the Sevenmile Radio team with Mark due to irreconcilable differences.
Please respectfully refrain from sharing any social media content associated with 7M radio with me. This decision was not an easy decision to make. However, it is best for me in my current journey in life at this time. I wish you the best in all of your future endeavors. Thank you for your gracious support and understanding.
We mentioned Sevenmile Radio podcast earlier in this episode, but there are a lot of creators such as Black Girl Gone and Chenitra Speaks that have done deep dives into the parts of the case that the media hasn’t covered, such as Misiah’s family dynamics and the rumors that have been unfolding on social media.
Since we can’t corroborate some of what’s been said with official sources, we won’t be covering those points today. However, if that’s something that interests you, we’ll be sure to link their channels for you to check out. In February of 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services released a lackluster official statement.
It read, “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Naziah Harris, but we can’t discuss specific cases due to state and federal laws. MDHHS is deeply committed to ensuring the health and safety of all children.” There were many petitions created on change.org or seeking justice for Naziah. One of these was created by Tamara Liberty Smith, vice chairwoman for the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners and also Mvin Jennings friend of 35 years.
She included an open letter to child protective services which read, “The safety and well-being of our children must be our utmost priority.” Recent events have highlighted a critical gap in the enforcement of CPS rules, allowing children to remain in environments where their safety is compromised by known violators of these rules.
Asia Harris’s tragic passing underscores the need for immediate action. Her life was cut short because a known file was allowed to have contact with her despite existing CPS guidelines intended to prevent such scenarios. We believe that this tragedy could have been avoided with stricter enforcement and oversight.
We urge CPS to one review and strengthen policies. Re-evaluate current policies related to the custody and care of children who may be exposed to no files, ensuring that these policies are robust and comprehensive. Two, enhance monitoring and compliance. Increase monitoring enforcement efforts to ensure compliance with CPS rules, particularly in cases where a child’s safety may be at risk.
Three, implement mandatory reporting and accountability measures. Establish mandatory reporting and accountability protocols for caregivers and guardians who knowingly place children in unsafe environments. Four, provide better support and resources. Offer more support and resources for families and caregivers to make informed decisions that prioritize the safety of children.
Tomorrow’s petition currently has over 30,000 signatures and is still open today. We’ll have it in the description in the pin comment below. There are other petitions out there on the web that are advocating for the arrest of Naziah’s grandmother, Annette, and her aunt Shannon, as they allowed Jarvis into Naziah’s life.
Jarvis is scheduled to go to trial on October 6, 2025. He’s facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, as he’s yet to go to trial, he is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Naziah’s father, Mvin Jennings, died in August of 2024. It’s unclear if he ever learned his daughter’s fate or the man responsible for it.
His family and friends spoke to the public on his behalf, asking for justice to be served. Tamara Liberty Smith told the press, “He died of a broken heart. He passed not knowing where his daughter was. That’s the reason he got sicker. He was searching relentlessly for her. And now he’s left the earth with no answers. I’m just hoping the family can get the justice they deserve.
I’m not sure we’re even looking for a living person anymore. But the family still wants answers and for whoever did this to be punished.
