Couple Jailed for Starving and Burying Their Three-Year-Old Son

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah were sentenced to a combined 44 years after their malnourished son died and was buried in their backyard.

Abiyah Yasharahyalah, 3, died in early 2020 from a respiratory illness compounded by severe malnutrition, rickets, anemia, and stunted growth.
The couple followed an unsupplemented extreme vegan diet and refused medical care, attempting to treat their son with garlic and ginger instead of seeking professional help.
After Abiyah's death, his parents kept his body in their bed for eight days before burying him in an 80cm-deep grave behind their Handsworth, Birmingham home.
Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, who created their own belief system and lived 'off-grid,' were found guilty of neglect and perverting the course of justice after a two-month trial.
The couple was arrested in December 2022 while living in a caravan, with police uncovering the burial site after their eviction from the Birmingham property.