Abiyah Yasharahyalah: Couple who starved three year-old son and buried his body after ‘breathtaking’ neglect jailed

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah have been jailed at Coventry Crown Court for 24-and-a-half years and 19-and-a-half years respectively for causing the death of their three-year-old son and perverting the course of justice by burying his body in their back garden A two-month trial was told Abiyah Yasharahyalah, who was restricted to an “extreme” vegan diet, died in early 2020 from a respiratory illness with a more than minimal cause of his death being severe malnourishment which led to rickets, anaemia and stunted growth. open image in gallery Guilty: Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah A post-mortem examination of 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 about six weeks before his death. The pair, whose diet largely consisted of nuts, raisins and soya milk, were both “extremely thin” when they were arrested on December 9 2022, leading to the discovery of their son’s body five days later. open image in gallery The garden where Abiyah was buried Former fitness instructor Tai, aged 42, told police in interview that he had carried out an “eight-day ritual” hoping that Abiyah would “come back”, but had eventually decided to conduct a burial in accordance with his culture on what he regarded as sacred ground.