Vegan parents who let son starve to death after ‘opting out of society’ guilty

The parents of a ‘dreadfully neglected’ three-year-old boy ‘secretly’ buried in their back garden have been found guilty of causing or allowing his death.

Abiyah Yasharahyalah’s broken, deformed bones showed signs of severe malnutrition, rickets, anaemia, stunted growth and dental disease when it was found at a Birmingham address in December 2022.

It had been home to him and his parents Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 42 and 43, who have now been convicted of child cruelty and perverting the court of justice.

They had been accused of plunging themselves into ‘poverty, isolation and ill-health’ by rejecting society, welfare benefits and conventional medicine some time after 2016.

An ultra-strict vegan diet put themselves and Abiyah into a ‘state of chronic malnutrition’, ultimately leading to Abiyah’s death from a respiratory illness in early 2020.

They then kept his body in their bed for eight days before burying his body in an 80cm-deep grave, hiding his death from family and the authorities.

Mr Yasharahyalah claimed the ‘eight-day ritual’ was conducted in the hope Abiyah would ‘come back’.

The three-year-old’s body was found in December 2022 after his parents were evicted. An earlier welfare check failed to identify Abiyah as missing.

His parents claimed he died after catching a cold or flu, which they tried to treat with raw ginger and garlic.

Prosecutors blamed their refusal to seek medical help on their ‘zealous’ beliefs, or a fear they could be suspected of neglect.

While Abiyah was alive, his swollen wrists, knees and ankles, and his unusually prominent forehead, showed signs of a severe vitamin D deficiency

Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC said: ‘This child started life small but normal, and over time he became abnormally small.

‘Those features must have been discernible to his parents if, as they claim, they were caring, loving and attentive.’

The prosecutor told the court: ‘Poverty, isolation and ill-health were the results of the defendants’ conscious decisions.

‘How easy it would have been to seek medical assistance and how easy it could have been to obtain extra food.’

The couple, formerly of Clarence Road, Handsworth, claimed they hadn’t called 999 when he died because they feared strangers could scare his spirit away.

Eight days later, they embalmed Abiyah with frankincense and myrrh, and buried him in the garden in order to follow a ritual that would allow him to be reincarnated, they told the court.

They did not register Abiyah’s death, and they did not inform the authorities or other family members.

Mr Hankin told the court: ‘Motivated by their belief system and a desire to avoid unwanted attention that might lead to investigation into misconduct, the defendants were prepared to allow their child to suffer the consequences of inadequate nutrition and a lack of medical and dental care.’

A jury found the couple, formerly of Clarence Road, Handsworth, had failed to provide Abiyah with adequate nutrition or to seek medical care.

Both had denied the charges.

Jurors deliberated for 21 hours and 14 minutes before delivering guilty verdicts on all counts.

Mr and Mrs Yasharahyalah will be sentenced next Thursday.

Speaking after the verdict, James Leslie Francis, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Abiyah’s parents deliberately and wilfully neglected him by restricting him to a strict vegan diet and showing a callous disregard for his health and wellbeing.

‘While they were free to behave in a way that damaged their own health, they owed him a duty of care and their actions led to his premature death.

‘Afterwards, they buried his body to hide their crime, without notifying the authorities.

‘If his malnutrition and health issues had been treated, it is highly unlikely that he would have died suddenly and unexpectedly at his age.

‘Working closely with medical professionals and our partners in the criminal justice system, we were able to prove the full extent of their neglect and today, justice has been achieved.’

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