BASED ON THE CASE OF TAI YASHARAHYALAH AND NAIYAHMI YASHARAHYALAH IN BIRMINGHAM

A couple from Birmingham, whose severely malnourished child was discovered buried in their garden, followed a strict vegan diet, identified themselves as 'indigenous', and claimed to have renounced their citizenship, a court was told. Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah face charges of causing or permitting their son's death, as well as allegations of neglect, cruelty, and perverting the course of justice.

Police launched an investigation after finding the remains of their four-year-old son, Abiyah Yasharahyalah, at their rented home on Clarence Road, Handsworth, in December 2022. The court heard that the child’s birth and death were not officially registered. The couple claimed that Abiyah had died from an illness years earlier, sometime in 2020.

During police interviews, the 42-year-old father, Tai Yasharahyalah, stated that Abiyah had fallen ill with what they believed was a cold or flu, which they were treating naturally with raw ginger and garlic. The court was told that the following morning, Tai found his son lifeless, and despite attempts at CPR, he could not be revived.

Jurors heard that Abiyah was kept in their bed for several days while Tai performed an 'eight-day ritual' in the hope that he would 'come back.' The child was then embalmed with frankincense and myrrh before the couple held a private burial. When his body was later exhumed, medical examination revealed signs of 'severe malnutrition', along with fractures and various health conditions.

Both parents were described as visibly thin and weak as a result of their diet. Naiyahmi, aged 43, was noted to have appeared 'skeletal' during her first police interview.

Opening the case on Tuesday, prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC stated that the couple had 'separately and together neglected' Abiyah by failing to provide proper nutrition and medical care. 'The prosecution case put simply, is that the defendants, separately and together, neglected their child and they did so by failing to provide him with adequate food, and failed to provide him with medical care,' he said.

Mr. Hankin added, 'They deliberately chose not to provide or arrange for the provision of adequate nutrition and medical care. Instead, they prioritized their cultural practices and beliefs over the child's welfare, with disastrous consequences.'

The defendants claimed their actions were consistent with their cultural beliefs, particularly their strict vegan lifestyle and rejection of Western medicine. The court heard that the death went undisclosed until December, with the couple burying the child's body in their garden. When the body was exhumed, it was found that Abiyah was suffering from severe malnutrition. Despite decomposition, evidence showed he had experienced rickets, anemia, stunted growth, bone malformation, deformity, and had sustained fractures during his lifetime.