Court Hears Parents Performed ‘Reincarnation Ritual’ on Deceased Son

A court has been informed that the parents of a boy, whose remains were discovered in a Birmingham garden, held a belief that their son would undergo reincarnation if a specific burial ritual was observed. Tai Yasharahyalah, 42, and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 43, face charges of causing or permitting the death of their three-year-old son, Abiyah Yasharahyalah. Law enforcement officials located Abiyah’s body interred behind the couple’s residence in Handsworth, Birmingham, during December 2022. During his testimony at Coventry Crown Court, Mr. Yasharahyalah stated that he and his wife were attempting to “preserve Abiyah’s soul” through the execution of the ritual. The father, a London native who spent a significant portion of his youth in Nigeria, informed the court that Abiyah passed away in January 2019 after the entire family fell ill. The court was told that Abiyah requested to sleep on Mr. Yasharahyalah while the family was resting together on a bed at their Birmingham home. Mr. Yasharahyalah recounted waking up later to discover his son unresponsive on his chest. He performed CPR briefly before concluding that “his physical form had gone.” The 42-year-old testified that within his Igbo culture—the traditions of a community residing in southeastern Nigeria—there is a conviction that each individual possesses both a physical and a spiritual form, with the spiritual aspect being preservable to facilitate reincarnation. Mr. Yasharahyalah explained that they refrained from contacting emergency services due to the belief that unfamiliar individuals might frighten away spirits. A paraffin lamp was lit by the couple in the room close to Abiyah, intended as a guiding light should his spirit desire to re-enter his body. The jury was informed that following an eight-day interval, designated for the spirit to locate the body, Abiyah’s body underwent embalming with frankincense and myrrh. Subsequently, he was interred in their rear garden, in soil that Mr. Yasharahyalah had “blessed.” When questioned about burying the body to conceal it from authorities, the defendant asserted that it was “not the case at all.” Previously in the proceedings, medical professionals had informed the court that forensic examinations of the boy’s remains revealed malnourishment, rickets, anaemia, bone abnormalities, and fractures affecting one leg, one arm, and several ribs. When questioned about observing any indications of Abiyah’s ill health prior to his demise, Mr. Yasharahyalah responded, “not at all.” Mr. and Mrs. Yasharahyalah have entered pleas of not guilty to charges of causing or allowing the death of a child, neglect, and perverting the course of justice. The trial remains ongoing.