Vegan parents starved son, buried him in garden

Three-year-old Abiyah was left badly malnourished after being fed dried fruit and nuts by his parents who lived off grid.

A vegan couple who starved their three-year-old son to death banned western medicine and were devoted to conspiracies.

Tai Yasharahyalah and wife Naiyahmi neglected their son Abiyah by failing to provide adequate food for the three-year-old.

The couple, who were described as weak and thin due to their strict vegan diet, left the youngster “severely malnourished”, The Sun reports.

Mum Naiyahmi mainly ate raisins and nuts and after “cutting out all processed food”, the family’s food supplies “diminished”.

Tai Yasharahyalah and wife Naiyahmi danced with meat cleavers in bizarre videos. Credit: Instagram

Abiyah had been embalmed and buried in the back garden.

Abiyah suffered from rickets, anaemia, stunted growth, bone malformation and deformity in his short life.

His remains were discovered in the garden of his home in Birmingham in December 2022.

Naiyahmi and Tai were strict vegans who had cut out all sugars and processed fruit from their diet.

The makeshift grave where Abiyah was buried in the back garden. (West Midlands Police)

Abiyah was born to parents whose beliefs meant they ignored his health needs, their trial heard.

They also rejected modern medicine in favour of herbs and superstition.

The couple did not work, relying largely on the charity of unsuspecting wellwishers.

They made £80-a-month from bizarre music videos, the Daily Mail reports.

One clip showed the pair dancing while dressed as warriors and brandishing meat cleavers.

Tai fell into a “spiral of conspiracy” on the internet while studying for a degree in medical genetics.

He believed embryos were used for anti-ageing creams and thought Covid-19 was a “biological weapon” targeted at minorities.

Music producer Tai-Zamarai Yasharahyalah, aged 42, and his wife 43-year-old Naiyamhi, a graphic designer, were found guilty by the jury at Coventry Crown Court. (West Midlands Police)

Tai refused medical help for Abiyah during the pandemic because he “did not want my son to be a lab rat”.

The couple have now been convicted of causing or allowing his death following a harrowing trial.

They were also found guilty of child cruelty after failing to provide adequate nutrition or medical care and perverting the course of justice.

Footage released by police shows Tai arguing with police and accusing them of “trespassing” when they were called to the home over child welfare concerns.

He tells officers he and Naiyahmi had “renounced our citizenship” and claimed they “have no power or authority in my realm”.

The dad added: “If you have an issue then go and get a warrant. What are you going to do, arrest me? Go on then. Go on then. Go on. Arrest me.”

When officers handcuffed him, Tai confirmed his son’s name was Abiyah but refuses to answer when asked where he is.

He rants: “That’s none of your business. Why are you asking me this?”

Coventry Crown Court was told Abiyah had fallen ill with a cold or flu in 2020, which his parents treated naturally with raw ginger and garlic.

He was discovered lifeless the following morning but his mum and dad kept him in their bed for eight days for a “ritual”.

Tai Yasharahyalah hoped his son would “come back” before embalming him with frankincense and myrrh.

Abiyah’s body was exhumed two years later, with police discovering his birth and death had not been registered.

The couple had been evicted from the rented property but left their son’s remains in the back garden, the court heard.

When they were eventually found by police in a caravan in Glastonbury, they said they had renounced their citizenship and were living as “sovereign and indigenous members of the Kingdom of Yasharahyalah”.

Officers observed they were both “extremely thin” with their bones visible through their clothing.

Mum Naiyahmi in particular struggled to walk and was described by police as “skeletal”.

In separate footage of the arrest, Tai claimed he had a bad back as he screamed out in alleged agony.

While Naiyahmi told police: “Do not come into my space. I am an indigenous person of this vicinity, this territory, this personal space right now.

“Leave now. I am not contracted to you under rebirth of Yasharahyalah. I have no affiliation with you. I have no citizenship.”

Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC claimed the couple had “separately and together neglected” Abiyah by failing to provide him with adequate food and medical care.

He added: “They deliberately chose not to provide or arrange for the provision of adequate nutrition and medical care.

“Instead they prioritised their cultural practices and beliefs over the child’s welfare, with disastrous consequences.

“The defendants claim that their behaviour throughout was in accordance with their cultural beliefs, principally their strict veganism, and rejection of Western medicine.”

This story first appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.