Parents on trial accused of child cruelty and neglect as dead son, four, buried in Handsworth garden

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah stand accused of causing or allowing Abiyah's death, alongside neglect, cruelty and perverting the course of justice

A couple whose young son was found buried in a Birmingham garden kept his body in their bed for days as they prayed for his return, a trial was told. Parents Tai, 42, and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 43, are accused of wilful neglect, child cruelty, causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice.

As the trial opened at Coventry Crown Court, jurors were told the pair 'prioritised their cultural beliefs over their child's welfare' by neglecting nutritional and medical needs. The remains of their son, four-year-old Abiyah Yasharahyalah, were discovered in the garden of their rented home in Clarence Road, Handsworth, in December 2022.

After he died from an illness, the pair concealed his death from the authorities with a private burial, the court heard. Father Tai Yasharahyalah told police he carried out an 'eight-day ritual' at their home, including 'embalming' his son and preparing him to 'come back' before digging up the garden and burying the body.

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The couple were arrested when Abiyah's existence, and death, first came to light as his birth had not been registered. His father told officers the child had fallen ill the night before his death, but both parents believed it was either a cold or flu.

They were "attacking it" with natural medicines such as raw garlic and ginger, but in the morning, he was found "lifeless" in their bed, the court was told. Relaying the police interview with Tai Yasharahyalah in the defendant's words, Jonas Hankin KC, prosecuting, told jurors: "'Concerning the death of Abiyah, we were just chilling as a family and he wasn't his usual self.

"There was something different. We thought it was a cold and were attacking it. We're naturalists and believe in holistic medicine. I thought it was just this persistent flu that wouldn't go away.

"I was taking a lot of garlic and ginger, and giving it to Naiyahmi and Abiyah. I was in a form of meditation. Naiyahmi said something to me that was very strange, she said 'he said he wants to go to the flying place.'

"After she said that, I looked at his face and he had a frown. I felt helpless. He needed me and there was nothing I could do. When I woke up, he was still and he wouldn't move.

"I just held him and he was not moving. I tried to perform CPR quickly to see what I could do or if I needed to call anybody but he just wasn't there.

"There's a part of our culture, where if someone is deceased, or not, they call it eight rises, trying to bring them back. In that period, it can come back into the body. When I saw he was lifeless, I didn't want to give up. I was like 'no, no, no, I'm sure his mission is not done yet.'"

Police then probed further into the details of the "ritual", which included lighting a lamp and leaving the boy's body in their bed, the court was told. Tai Yasharahyalah had said: "He was still in the bed with us, I was still seeing if there was any way we could bring him back. We were praying, we lit his lamp, it's part of our culture so that he can find his way back home. He didn't come back.

"We spent eight days trying to see if he would come back. The vessel had to be buried. According to our ritual, or our culture, he had to be planted so the burial is like a planting.

"It's very important in the ritual there are no strangers or else, he would see a stranger and run away so he won't come back if he sees that. I went to the garden that he played in, I dug it up, we had embalmed him with Frankincense and Myrrh and prepared him for his coming back."

No-one but the boy's parents were at the burial, he told the investigating officer, adding: "Our aim was to make sure he comes back according to our culture because he hasn't finished his assignment."

The couple said they would "medicate a lot of ginger and raw garlic" for a cold usually. Asked why he did not call for medical help after the unsuccessful CPR, Tai Yasharahyalah added: "Because as soon as I saw he wasn't breathing, I checked his pulse straight away, he was not there so at that point I had to make a decision.

"If we want him back, then there can't be any strangers. In accordance to our culture and our belief, let's do the right days, I was hopeful he would come back, because I just knew in my heart, there's no way he's gone yet."

The couple were later evicted from their rented home in Handsworth due to rent arrears, the court heard. They moved into a shipping container in Glastonbury before buying a caravan to live in.

The trial continues.