Boy, 3, starved and buried by his parents became 'invisible' to child services, review finds

Sky News

7 days ago

A three-year-old boy who was starved and buried in a garden by his parents became "invisible" to child services, a review has found.
Abiyah Yasharahyalah died in 2020 from a respiratory illness, worsened by severe malnourishment, rickets, anaemia and stunted growth caused by a "restricted" vegan diet.
A review of his family's contact with authorities concluded that there was a lack of curiosity about how his parents' culture and lifestyle might have impacted the toddler's wellbeing.
Parents Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah were jailed for 24 and a half years and 19 and a half years, respectively, in December after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice, causing or allowing the death of a child, and child neglect.
A judge said they had both "played a part in starving" Abiyah when it would have been obvious he needed medical care.
Tai and Naiyahmi, aged 42 and 43, shunned mainstream society and left their son's body buried at their property in Handsworth, Birmingham, when they were evicted in March 2022, Coventry Crown Court heard.
Abiyah's body was only found in December 2022, five days after his parents were arrested.
London-born Tai, a medical genetics graduate who also used the first name Tai-Zamarai, and former shop worker Naiyahmi had "invented" a belief system featuring aspects of Igbo culture that Tai, who grew up in both Nigeria and Peckham in London, adapted to form a legal system he called "slick law".
Their trial heard they lived off donations, at one point occupying a shipping container and at another a caravan in Glastonbury, Somerset.
'Invisible and lost from professional view'
A review by Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership found that Abiyah "was only ever seen by a small number of professionals during his lifetime, and for a limited time only".
"Parental resistance of advice, support or authority ultimately resulted in (Abiyah) becoming invisible and lost from professional view," the report, published on Wednesday, stated.
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Health records show that Abiyah was seen by a health visitor in April 2026 shortly after he was born and again that May for a check-up.
This was followed by some contact with a local authority social worker in London in 2018, as well as four visits to a children's centre in Birmingham, but "records of these contacts and interactions are very limited, reinforcing that there was very little insight into (Abiyah's) existence, health of welfare".
Police visited the Clarence Road property in Handsworth where Abiyah lived with his family in 2018 when he was alive, but "no details were recorded" about the boy, with his presence "almost invisible on review of records", according to the review.
There was also "no exploration or curiosity" about Naiyahmi's desire for a home birth with no medical intervention by Birmingham Community Health Care NHS Foundation Trust's health visiting service, the review noted.
In March 2020, health visitor records said it had been mentioned at a safeguarding meeting that Abiyah had not been seen by them since his six-week assessment, as appointments at the one and two-year marks since his birth were not attended.
Additionally, Abiyah did not receive any routine immunisations. A follow-up inquiry was planned but never carried out, with the review stating that the COVID-19 lockdown starting that year likely contributed.
'General lack of knowledge'
Authorities coming into contact with the Yasharahyalahs showed a "general lack of knowledge or assessment of the parents' belief systems", which led to an "insufficient understanding about the impact on (Abiyah's) care", the review found.
It added that his parents' behaviour "often distracted or diverted professional attention" away from his safety and welfare.
The review said that while social workers had been aware of the family's culture and parents' beliefs and lifestyle, they appeared not to have considered how this would impact Abiyah's safety and wellbeing.
It warned that "the safeguarding of children being impacted by harmful cultural practice is paramount".
Social workers needed to be "confident to ask questions about different cultures and belief systems without fear of being perceived as discriminatory", the report stated, while highlighting that navigating race, ethnicity, culture and habits "can be challenging".
Abiyah's mother, who took part in the review, said she had believed she was "doing the right thing at the time" for her son based on her cultural beliefs, but that she now wished she had done more research about diet and healthcare.
The report recommends that workforce guidance be looked at to ensure it "supports effective assessment and intervention which safeguards those children that become hidden from professional sight and/or when parents choose to live an alternative, or more off-grid lifestyle".
Annie Hudson, chair of the child safeguarding practice review panel, said the review highlighted "how Abiyah became invisible and lost from the view and oversight of professionals".
She added: "It evidences strongly the paramount importance of understanding what life is like for children, and not being distracted or diverted away by parental behaviour when considering children's safety and welfare."