Aunt of 'beautiful' boy starved and buried by religious-cult parents speaks of torment

Yahoo

3 days ago

The aunt of a 'beautiful' Birmingham toddler who died at the hands of his parents has paid tribute to her 'quiet' nephew, who loved soft play.
The remains of three-year-old Abiyah Yasharahyalah were discovered in a Handsworth garden in December 2022 - a death caused by his parents, Tai-zamarai Yasharahyalah and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah.
The cruel pair were jailed for 44 years in December 2024 for causing their son's death in one of the worst neglect cases Birmingham has seen.
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'We last saw him on his first birthday'
Determined not to let the memory of her beloved nephew be forgotten, Abiyah's aunt and Naiyahmi's younger sister, Cassie Rowe, spoke with BirminghamLive about her "beautiful nephew", who was "just a little boy who should still be here."
She is fundraising to give Abiyah's grave a "simple, loving, and permanent" headstone.
Five months on from the court case that launched Abiyah's harrowing story into the public eye, Cassie revealed the family had "finally been able to lay him to rest."
'Birmingham City Council sorted out the funeral, they spoke with me about what we wanted, I opted for a burial at Sutton Coldfield, I thought his energy could go back into feeding the earth," 42-year-old Cassie told BirminghamLive.
Speaking incredibly openly about tragedy so close to home, Cassie spoke of how her sister Naiyamhi had come to stay with her and her children when she was pregnant with Abiyah.
Abiyah and his mother lived with Cassie for six months in 2017 after she was "sent away" by Tai-zamarai after falling pregnant.
"He apparently had 'God's work' to do", said Cassie.
'There was a lot of nonsense. She was very unwell when she turned up to me pregnant.
'She was really thin, you could see her bones sticking out, I thought how do you let you wife get into this state, she was seven months pregnant and had not been to see a doctor. We made her go.
'We had a first birthday party for him, that was the last time any of us saw him."
'We thought the kingdom was a bit silly'
'We thought the kingdom was a bit silly, when she was living with me she was always cooking and eating, I don't know what happened."
Cassie explained that once Naiyahmi got back in touch with Tai-zamarai, they moved into the terraced property in Handsworth that saw the escalation of their 'kingdom.'
They pair completely rejected the outside world and lived by their own rules, which they called 'Slack Law' and lived off a strict vegan diet as well as rejecting Western medicine.
Experts confirmed Abiyah was severely malnourished, had broken bones, rickets, anaemia and dental disease.
A court heard how the pair prioritised their spiritual and cultural beliefs over Abiyah's welfare, depriving him of nutrition and medical care, which culminated in the three-year-old dying unexpectedly at the address in January 2020.
Cassie remembers the days before her sister left the family to "use social media" with her husband in promoting their kingdom.
"Naiyahmi was coming back to being her normal self; she had started wearing makeup again, western clothes. I was seeing signs of her old self again because she was away from her husband."
Adding: "When I heard about Abiyah's death, I could not believe it. When she was with me, she was very attentive.
'I allowed her to invite her husband to Abiyah's first birthday party, but it went downhill when she got in touch with him again.
'The headscarf went back on, we fell out because of how she was behaving and she found somewhere to live.
'One day she just packed her stuff and said thank you for having me and got into a taxi and didn't leave a forwarding address."
'A loss in many ways'
Cassie said she feels an element of guilt because the atmosphere had grown 'toxic' in her house once her sister got back in touch with Tai-zamarai.
'I had lost my sister again," said Cassie.
'She reached out after his death in 2020, but didn't say anything; we had no idea he had died.'
Cassie said that because of her sister's beliefs, she did not respond to her on social media.
'[Abiyah's death] was unnecessary. That's what's so heartbreaking: a life wasted for unnecessary reasons.
'It has been difficult for the family. How do you deal with your sibling or daughter - what she's done - but then you also remember this relationship you had with her.
'It has been a loss in many ways.
'I am mourning the sister that I had and the nephew that I knew."
Reflecting on the time she did spend with her nephew, Cassie said: "Abiyah had a timid temperament. He loved food; he was always eating. He used to come to soft play.
"He liked playing with the toys that you could whack and the kitchen.
'He was just a little quiet boy; he was not a problem."
Abiyah was buried at a funeral service attended by 15 family members at Sutton New Hall cemetery in July.
Cassie's fundraiser for Abiyah's headstone has so far raised £1,450, you can find it on gofundme here.