A COUPLE who starved their three-year-old son to death danced with meat cleavers, banned western medicine and were devoted to conspiracies.
Tai Yasharahyalah and wife Naiyahmi neglected their son Abiyah by failing to provide adequate food for the three-year-old.
The couple, who were described as weak and thin due to their strict vegan diet, left the youngster “severely malnourished”.
Mum Naiyahmi mainly ate raisins and nuts and after “cutting out all processed food”, the family’s food supplies “diminished”.
Abiyah suffered from rickets, anaemia, stunted growth, bone malformation and deformity in his short life.
His remains were discovered in the garden of his home in Birmingham in December 2022.
Naiyahmi and Tai were strict vegans who had cut out all sugars and processed fruit from their diet.
They also rejected modern medicine in favour of herbs and superstition.
The couple did not work, relying largely on the charity of unsuspecting well-wishers.
They made £80-a-month from bizarre music videos, the Mail reports.
One clip showed the pair dancing while dressed as warriors and brandishing meat cleavers.
Tai fell into a “spiral of conspiracy” on the internet while studying for a degree in medical genetics.
He believed embryos were used for anti-ageing creams and thought Covid-19 was a “biological weapon” targeted at minorities.
Tai refused medical help for Abiyah during the pandemic because he “did not want my son to be a lab rat”.
The couple have now been convicted of causing or allowing his death following a harrowing trial.
They were also found guilty of child cruelty after failing to provide adequate nutrition or medical care and perverting the course of justice.
A video released by the police shows Tai getting into an argument with the officers and accusing them of trespassing after they were called to the house due to concerns regarding child welfare.
He tells officers he and Naiyahmi had “renounced our citizenship” and claimed they “have no power or authority in my realm”.
The dad added: “If you have an issue then go and get a warrant. What are you going to do, arrest me? Go on then. Go on then. Go on. Arrest me.”
When officers handcuffed him, Tai confirmed his son’s name was Abiyah but refuses to answer when asked where he is.
He rants: “That’s none of your business. Why are you asking me this?”
Coventry Crown Court was told Abiyah had fallen ill with a cold or flu in 2020, which his parents treated naturally with raw ginger and garlic.
He was discovered lifeless the following morning but his mum and dad kept him in their bed for eight days for a “ritual”.
Tai Yasharahyalah hoped his son would “come back” before embalming him with frankincense and myrrh.
Abiyah’s body was exhumed two years later, with police discovering his birth and death had not been registered.
The couple had been evicted from the rented property but left their son’s remains in the back garden, the court heard.
After being located by the police in a caravan in Glastonbury, the couple stated that they had given up their citizenship and were now living as “sovereign and indigenous members of the Kingdom of Yasharahyalah.”
Officers observed they were both “extremely thin” with their bones visible through their clothing.
Mum Naiyahmi in particular struggled to walk and was described by police as “skeletal”.
In separate footage of the arrest, Tai claimed he had a bad back as he screamed out in alleged agony.
While Naiyahmi told police: “Do not come into my space. I am an indigenous person of this vicinity, this territory, this personal space right now.
“Leave now. I am not contracted to you under rebirth of Yasharahyalah. I have no affiliation with you. I have no citizenship.”
The prosecutor, Jonas Hankin KC, alleged that the couple had jointly and individually neglected Abiyah by not ensuring he received sufficient food and medical attention.
He added: “They deliberately chose not to provide or arrange for the provision of adequate nutrition and medical care.
“Instead they prioritised their cultural practices and beliefs over the child’s welfare, with disastrous consequences.
“The defendants claim that their behaviour throughout was in accordance with their cultural beliefs, principally their strict veganism, and rejection of Western medicine.”
