Mother who starved boy, 3, admits beliefs caused death

Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah's son was fed an extreme vegan diet

- REBECCA WHITTAKER

A mother who starved her three-year-old boy on an extreme vegan diet and later buried his body in the garden has admitted for the first time that her beliefs caused his death.

Abiyah Yasharahyalah died in early 2020 from a respiratory illness, worsened by a "restricted" vegan diet consisting primarily of nuts, raisins and soya milk, which caused severe malnourishment, rickets, anaemia and stunted growth.

A review, published by Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership yesterday, examining his contact with authorities before his death, has revealed that Abiyah's mother believed she was "doing the right thing at the time" for her son based on her cultural beliefs.

However, she told the review that with the benefit of hindsight, she now wished she had done more research about diet and healthcare. She said it was "hard to accept that my approach did not lead to the best outcomes for my child and that it took the court process to take me out of that bubble".

The report noted that she spoke about being firm that she made the right choices for her children and, at the time, did not believe he needed help with any illness.

Abiyah's parents, Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, aged 42 and 43, were sentenced to 24-and-a-half years and 19-and-a-half years respectively for causing their son's death and perverting the course of justice by burying his body in their back garden.

The sentencing judge said they had both "played a part in starving" their son when it would have been obvious he needed medical care.