Parents who forced 'extreme' vegan diet on toddler and buried his body in garden jailed

A couple have been jailed for causing or allowing the death of their three-year-old son after forcing him to endure an "extreme" vegan diet.

Abiyah Yasharahyalah died after a respiratory illness while suffering from fractures, severe malnutrition, rickets, anaemia, stunted growth and severe dental decay.

Jurors heard Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 42 and 43, kept the boy's body in their bed for eight days, embalmed him and then buried him in a shallow grave in their garden in early 2020.

He wasn't found for more than two years.

The jury was told the couple shunned mainstream society in favour of their own "kingdom" in Handsworth, Birmingham, and pushed a restrictive vegan diet.

Prosecutors said it would have been obvious Abiyah was in considerable pain and neither parent could explain why they didn't get help.

The trial was told instead of contacting NHS the couple tried to treat their son's final illness with garlic and ginger.

The couple's diet largely consisted of nuts, raisins and soya milk and they were both "extremely thin" when they were arrested on 9 December 2022 while living in a caravan in Glastonbury.

Abiyah's body was finally found five days later.

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The couple denied the charges against them, telling the court they did not act wilfully and believed Abiyah would recover from a flu-like condition.

They were found guilty last week after a two-month trial at Coventry Crown Court. They were convicted of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice as well as causing or allowing the death of a child.

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah were jailed for 24-and-a-half years and 19-and-a-half years respectively.

(c) Sky News 2024: Parents who forced 'extreme' vegan diet on toddler and buried his body in garden jailed