Parents who caused death of buried boy jailed

A couple whose severely malnourished son’s body was found buried in the garden of their former home have been jailed.

The body of three-year-old Abiyah was found at the back of a house in Birmingham after Tai and Naiyahmi Yashrahayalah, 42 and 43, were evicted from the property.

last week, The pair were found guilty of Abijah’s deathWhose body was found in a house on Clarence Road, Handsworth.

Tai Yasharahayalah was sentenced to 24-and-a-half years in prison and Naiyahami Yasharahayalah to 19-and-a-half years in prison at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday.

During an eight-week trial, the court heard that the couple lived in isolation and created their own belief system based on a mixture of New Age mysticism and elements taken from West African religion.

After Abijah’s death, they kept his body inside their home for eight days, embalming the body using frankincense and myrrh before ritual burial in their garden.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Wall said, her son died “as a result of your willful neglect of him.”

He said the three-year-old had a “list of injuries and illnesses” at the time of his death.

The couple heard that the judge was “convinced” they both realized how unwell their son was before his death.

During the trial, jurors were told the couple were evicted from their Birmingham home in March 2022, before police found their son’s body in December that year.

After being exhumed, Abijah was found to be severely malnourished and suffering from a list of other health problems at the time of his death.

These include bone fractures, rickets, anemia, stunted growth, and severe dental caries.