Dead child was undiscovered in Birmingham garden for years

A couple accused of child abuse towards their son, who was found buried in a backyard, denied his existence to authorities, a court has heard.

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, aged 42 and 43, are accused of causing or allowing the death of their three-year-old son, Abiyah Yasharahyalah.

He was found in a backyard in Handsworth, Birmingham, in December 2022.

When he was exhumed, he was found to be “severely malnourished”, with broken bones, rickets, anemia, dental disease and stunted growth.

The prosecutor suggested that Abiyah died between December 2019 and January 2020 and would have been about three years and nine months old.

The couple, who are also accused of perverting the course of justice, are on trial at Coventry Crown Court.

Prosecutor Jonas Hankin told the court the couple had prioritized their cultural practices and beliefs over their son’s well-being, “with disastrous consequences.”

The court heard the couple did not believe in Western medicine and preferred traditional practices such as herbs and superstition.

They followed a strict vegan diet and lived increasingly unconventional lives.

Witness statements read to the court said the couple had rejected British sovereignty and citizenship and were living off the grid.

Several witnesses also raised concerns about the couple’s health and strength, saying they had been seen in public struggling to walk, and that Ms Yasharahyalah had been very thin during pregnancy.

Abiyah’s existence came to light when authorities found photos and videos of him on his father’s social media accounts, when there were concerns about the welfare of their other child.

An interim care order was made in December 2022, placing that child in the joint care of the local authority.

A court order had been sought to provide medical treatment to the child.

During a meeting with a local government representative after the care order was enforced, Ms Yasharahyalah was confronted with photos of Abiyah on social media and asked if she had had children before.

She was told: “I’m free to search and I think I found pictures of you and Tai from a while ago with a child.”

Ms Yasharahyalah said: “I have no information to give you so it is not relevant at this time.”

The court heard that emails sent between the couple on the same day, to and from the same email address, stated: “You have no other children (…) make this clear he is your only child.”

An email sent after Ms Yasharahyalah was asked if she had another child said: “Let him locate him lol.”

Another message read: “No one will micromanage our lives, I don’t owe anyone an explanation, an indigenous family.”

An email that day also told them to say Abiyah was “one of the victims of the Covid agenda”.

Not long after, the couple admitted that Abiyah was dead and were arrested the same day.

Between December 12 and 15, Abiyah’s body was exhumed from a garden on Clarence Road in Handsworth, from which the couple had been evicted earlier that year.

They then went to live in a shipping container in Glastonbury, before moving into a caravan when they were asked to leave.

Mr Yasharahyalah said they had not registered Abiyah’s birth because it was not part of their culture, and said they had the right to a private funeral.

Both defendants deny that the neglect caused or enabled the death of a child and perverted the course of justice.

The process continues.