Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, who lived off-grid and shunned mainstream society, were found guilty of causing or allowing the death of their three-year-old son, Abiyah, due to neglect. Abiyah died from a respiratory illness worsened by malnutrition and was buried in the couple's garden.
A vegan couple whose three-year-old son was found buried in a garden after they opted out of society and set up their own 'kingdom' were today convicted of causing or allowing his death through 'breathtaking' neglect.
A post-mortem on Abiyah's 'skeletal' remains and other tests failed to identify how he died, but suggested he was also suffering from severe dental decay and six fractures to his right arm, legs and ribs, possibly caused by a fall six weeks before he died. The welfare check did not lead to Abiyah being identified as missing, due to confusion over records related to the address.
Tai, who also used the first name Tai-Zamarai, and his wife, who was born in Birmingham to a Christian family, denied the charges against them, telling the court they did not act wilfully and believed Abiyah would recover from a flu-like condition. Jurors heard that the couple met in the street while Tai, who moved to Birmingham in 2014, was busking and introduced himself to his future wife, whose original name was Donna Graham, as the 'King' of the Kingdom of Yasharahyalah.
But experts were able to say that if the three-year-old died from a respiratory illness, as described by his parents, the effects of malnutrition would have been a 'more than minimal' cause of his death. Prosecutors alleged it would have been obvious to both defendants that Abiyah, whose teeth would have been wobbly, was in considerable pain from abscesses and other ailments.There was no milk or bread in the fridge at the couple's house, West Midlands Police saidA guitar balance on a radiator and a chair covered in junk at the Yasharahyalahs' homeMr Hankin said: 'This child started life small but normal, and over time he became abnormally small.
Footage released after the couple were found guilty showed them arguing with police inside the property, while their son's body lay buried in the back garden. Asked if any children were living at he address, Tai, who had buried his son's body around 19 months previously, responded: 'We have the right to remain silent. I am a citizen of Yasharahyalah - you have no jurisdiction in my realm.'
Tai was also recorded as he sat in the back of a police van, complaining that he was a 'disabled person that can hardly move' and that he wished police had Tasered him in the face. Commenting after the couple were convicted, the senior investigating officer for the inquiry, West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Joe Davenport, said: 'When officers started to investigate Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, they then realised that there was a child missing called Abiyah.
'So we had to call in different experts and different pathologists who could provide us with information to understand what Abiyah's life would have been like and how he would have been at the point of his death. 'What we've been able to prove through the forensic evidence is that he did die as a result of malnutrition and medical neglect,' the senior detective said.
A number of videos recovered as part of the inquiry, thought to have been filmed during a period at least four months before Abiyah's death, show him smiling with both his parents. 'That made it extremely difficult for opportunities to arise where people would get to see Abiyah or to have any kind of interaction with him.
Parental Neglect Veganism Off-Grid Living Coventry Crown Court Respiration Illness Child Death
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