Overview
- Corrections officials said Thursday he was found unresponsive at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson, and Michigan State Police are investigating the death as a suicide.
- Staff at the state intake facility attempted life-saving measures, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections, which processes newly sentenced prisoners before transfer to long-term prisons.
- Butts pleaded guilty on February 12 and, at a March 12 hearing, received 35 to 60 years for second-degree murder plus concurrent 10 to 15 year terms for five child sex-assault counts.
- The plea required a truthful statement about where Na’Ziyah’s body could be found; prosecutors said they were satisfied with the information, yet authorities have not confirmed a recovery.
- Local 4 reported an unnamed source said Butts admitted dumping the body in the Rouge River near Seven Mile and Berg, while official records still list Na’Ziyah as unrecovered after her January 2024 disappearance and prosecutors cite digital evidence of grooming, pregnancy, and troubling search histories.