'Where is Na'Ziyah?' Rally held on 4-month anniversary of 13-year-old girl's disappearance

Detroit — A group of women marched outside Frank Murphy Hall of Justice Thursday, chanting a question that's haunted them for four months: "Where is Na'Ziyah?"

Na'Ziyah Harris has been missing since Jan. 9, when the 13-year-old seventh grader at the J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy reportedly got off her school bus near Cornwell Street and Three Mile Drive on Detroit's east side but never made it home.

Two Detroit Police sources told The Detroit News the investigation into the girl's disappearance is focused on a 41-year-old man who spent seven years in prison for having sex with an underage victim in 2004. The man is awaiting trial on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, after he allegedly sexually abused a seven-year-old girl. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last month, and is incarcerated in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Na'Ziyah's relatives and their supporters gathered outside the Wayne County Circuit Court building Thursday hoping to raise awareness about the case and pressure Wayne County prosecutors into bringing charges against the suspect in connection with Na'Ziyah's case. According to police sources, the man dated one of Na'Ziyah's relatives.

Jernell Smith-Holland, Na'Ziyah's great-aunt, and other relatives said they called Michigan Child Protective Services multiple times on the man because they suspected him of inappropriate behavior with children including Na'Ziyah. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said the agency takes all reports of abuse seriously, but said the Michigan Child Protection Law and other statutes prevented her from disclosing whether the state had investigated the man.

One of the signs that was lined up outside the courthouse Thursday read: "Investigate Child Protective Services." Other messages on signs included "4 months and no answers" and "If you have been violated by (the suspect), speak up."

"So many systems failed Na'Ziyah," Smith-Holland said. "This whole thing is just wrong on so many levels. People need to be held accountable — and (the suspect) needs to be charged."

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Miller said in an email: "It’s a police matter. The case is being investigated by the police. We do not have a warrant request that has been presented on it."

Detroit Police Assistant Chief Michael Parish confirmed that detectives have questioned the 41-year-old man in connection with Na'Ziyah's disappearance, but the assistant chief declined to discuss other details about the ongoing investigation.

In March, a team from Detroit police, Michigan State Police and Clinton Township police searched for Na'Ziyah in a pond near 14 Mile Road and Gratiot in Clinton Township, where the girl's family lived before moving to Detroit. Police also searched in Ann Arbor, and in the Rouge River on Detroit's west side. During the Rouge River search, Detroit Police Chief James White said the detail was "more like a recovery effort."

Two Detroit police sources said detectives were led to the search locations in Ann Arbor and the Rouge River after pinging the cellphone of the man who is the focus of the investigation. 

Smith-Holland said she doesn't think Na'Ziyah will be found alive.

"All this time without hearing anything from her ... I'm fearful she's not alive," Smith-Holland said. "I just don't see how a 13-year-old could survive this long."

Kewana Morton, Na'Ziyah's cousin, also said she doesn't think the girl is alive, "because there's been nothing from her in all this time."

"She hasn't reached out to anyone," she said. "That's just not like her."

Morton said she's getting "really frustrated" with the case.

"I'm sure the police are working hard on the investigation, but we're not hearing anything," she said.

Smith-Holland said the ongoing trial of Jaylin Brazier, who is accused of killing his 17-year-old cousin Zion Foster and entombing her body in a dumpster, gives her hope that the suspect will eventually be charged.

"They're similar cases," Smith-Holland said. "There was talk that (the suspect) couldn't be charged because Na'Ziyah's body hasn't turned up, but they never found Zion's body either, and her cousin was charged. So maybe, even if they don't find Na'Ziyah, they will charge (the suspect)."

Morton said her cousin didn't deserve whatever happened to her.

"Na'Ziyah was very playful," Morton said. "She was always cracking jokes; that was her thing. She once said she wanted to be a teacher, and then she wanted to be a hairstylist — she was a typical little girl. She'd lay her head on your shoulder sometimes and talk about what she wanted to do with her life."

Smith-Holland said she's tormented by questions about what happened to Na'Ziyah.

"Who was she with?" she said. "What was her thought process? What went through her mind?"

Smith-Holland, a registered nurse, said she took time off work to attend Thursday's rally. She said another rally is planned outside Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on June 25, when the suspect in Na'Ziyah's disappearance is scheduled for a court hearing in the criminal sexual conduct case.

"I don't know what else to do except keep showing up," Smith-Holland said.

Crime Stoppers of Michigan is offering a $4,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information about case is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (313) 596-2260 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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@GeorgeHunter_DN