Couple Sentenced Over Death of 3-Year-Old Son Buried in Garden

Naiyahmi (left) and Tai-Zamarai Yasharahyalah arriving at Coventry Crown Court, where they are on trial accused of causing or allowing the death of their 3-year-old son Abiyah, in Coventry, England, on Nov. 28, 2024. Matthew Cooper/PA Wire

The couple who caused the death of their three-year-old son and buried his body in the family garden have been sentenced at Coventry Crown Court.

The end of the three-month trial saw Tai-Zamarai Yasharahyalah, 42, and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 43, sentenced on Thursday to 24-and-a-half years and 19-and-a-half years respectively.

The sentencing follows their conviction last week, when they were found guilty of multiple charges including child cruelty, causing or allowing the death of a child, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Investigation of Abiyah Yasharahyalah’s death in 2020 revealed that he endured severe neglect and cruelty at the hands of his parents. The boy’s remains were found in the family’s garden in Handsworth, Birmingham in December 2022.

Medical examinations indicated that he suffered from malnutrition, rickets, anaemia, stunted growth, bone malformations, fractures, severe dental decay, and compromised immunity.

Photographs from mid-2019 showed Abiyah with swollen joints and an unusually prominent forehead, signs consistent with severe vitamin D deficiency.

Further analysis revealed that his thigh bone length was comparable to that of a 14-month-old child, underscoring his stunted growth. Additionally, evidence of five bone fractures, estimated to have occurred between three to seven weeks before his death, was found.

Cultural Beliefs

The defendants had denied causing Abiyah to die and told the court their conduct was in accordance with their cultural beliefs. They told the court they did not act wilfully and believed Abiyah would recover from a flu-like condition.

The court heard that in early 2020, Abiyah fell ill with a respiratory condition. Instead of seeking medical attention, his parents treated him with raw ginger and garlic. After his death, the couple kept Abiyah’s body in their bed for eight days, performing a “ritual” in hopes he would “come back,” before embalming him with frankincense and myrrh and burying him in their garden.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) proved in court that the couple “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,” said the CPS’s James Leslie Francis.

Tai-Zamarai Yasharahyalah, a former fitness instructor, had graduated from Queen Mary University of London, where he studied immunology and how diseases affect genes.

He met his future wife, whose original name was Donna Graham, while busking on the street, introducing himself as the “king” of the Kingdom of Yasharahyalah.

The couple registered their marriage in September 2015 and subsequently developed a belief system, which involved an unsupplemented vegan diet and adherence to a “slick law” legal framework Tai-Zamarai Yasharahyalah had invented.

Referring to a comment made by Abiyah’s mother that “nature has a way of doing things,” prosecutor Jonas Hankin, KC said: “That is their attitude, ‘we’re right and nature will decide.’ It is breathtaking arrogance and cruelty.”

During the trial, the defence lawyer Bernard Tetlow, KC said the defendants “genuinely believed they were doing the right thing.”

“They genuinely believed that their diet and the belief in natural and holistic medicines was the best way,” he told the court.

PA Media contributed to this report.