Police footage reveals dark insight into the lives of Birmingham parents who buried their toddler
Watch as bodycam footage captures the moment police enter into the Yasharahyalahs home in Birmingham
Police bodycam footage reveals the moments leading up to the arrest of Naiyahmi and Tai Yasharahyalah, who have been found guilty of causing the death of their three-year-old son Abiyah.
Their toddler was found buried in an 80cm-deep grave at the rear of their then-home in Clarence Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, at the start of the Covid pandemic in early 2020.
The court heard he died of a respiratory illness at a time when he had been suffering from severe malnutrition, rickets, anemia, stunted growth and severe dental decay.
He suffered five broken bones before his death.
2021
After entering the couple's house in Handsworth, Birmingham in September 2021, officers asked if a child lived at their house after concerns were raised for the welfare of a child that lived at the property.
Officers repeatedly ask Tai if there are any children living there but he does not respond.
Tai told officers: "you have no power or authority in my realm", before adding: "my child is none of your business and that (police) have no consent to enter into his house".
He said: "You don't have anything to do with us, this is my life and this is our family".
The court heard the couple did not register Abiyah's birth and refused to engage with social services.
A child safeguarding review will now look at if authorities could have done more as they were not aware of Abiyah's existence when they first visited in 2021.
Tai then said: "If you have an issue, get a warrant" and encouraged officers to arrest him.
Part of the couple's ideology rejected any state intervention from police or any other authority.
Police believed Tai established this ideology named after himself in 2015, which has it's own set of laws known as "Slick Law".
2022
Footage from December 2022 shows the moment police officers went to the caravan that the family moved to in Glastonbury, which officers now believe was part of their aim to live "off grid".
The family moved here after they were evicted from their home in Handsworth.
There was said to be a strong smell from coming outside the caravan which gave officers further cause for concern.
They discovered photos of an unknown child which would later emerge to be the couples' son Abiyah.
It was here that they were arrested and the couple admitted that their son was dead.
They say they had buried him in a prayer ritual and not told anyone in the belief he would be reincarnated.
Officers then found his body buried in the couples' back garden on Clarence Road in Handsworth.
He had been buried for almost three years when he was found.
'Leave my personal space' - Officers enter the caravan to try and speak with Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah but she is not willing
After police enter the caravan, Tai claims he has a bad back and that officers are hurting him.
They then go to check on his wife, Naiyahmi inside the caravan who is shining a light towards officers.
She said she is "not contracted to you" i.e. the police, and that she has "renounced her citizenship".
She can be seen holding up a piece of paper which she indicates is a contract that outlines her beliefs and can be heard repeatedly asking them to "leave".
"The Kingdom of Yasharahyalah"
She said "who are you" to officers and to "leave my private and personal space", before adding that she is an "indigenous person of this territory".
She adds that she "does not require their services under the rebirth of Kingdom of Yasharahyalah".
This was the belief system made up by them which involved a restrictive vegan diet and desire to avoid unwanted attention.
It also meant they did not seek any medical care for Abiyah when he was alive.
"He was buried three feet underground"
On Thursday, Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 42 and 43, from Birmingham, have been found guilty at Coventry Crown Court of causing or allowing the death of their young son Abiyah Yasharahyalah through "breathtaking" neglect.
Joe Davenport, Detective Inspector at West Midlands Police said: "The family had no involvement with any kind of family or friends and Abiyah didn't attend any kind of nursery and wasn't seen by anyone."
A post-mortem on Abiyah’s “skeletal” remains and other tests failed to identify how he died, but suggested he was also suffering from severe dental decay and six fractures to his right arm, legs and ribs, possibly caused by a fall around six weeks before his death.
Jurors deliberated for more than 21 hours over five days before unanimously convicting the couple of neglect, perverting the course of justice and causing or allowing death.
The couple, formerly of Clarence Road, Handsworth, were remanded in custody and will be sentenced next Thursday.
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