Aunt raises funds for neglected Birmingham toddler's headstone

BBC News

5 hours ago

"There's just a stick in the ground at the moment - I want his life to mean something," Cassie Rowe says of her nephew's grave.Many people will have seen the face of Abiyah Yasharahyalah on the news, after the three-year-old was found buried in the back garden of a house in Birmingham in late 2022. His parents buried him there after he died in 2020.Abiyah was found to have been severely malnourished and had suffered from bone fractures, rickets, anaemia, stunted growth and severe dental decay.His parents, Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, were jailed last year after being found guilty of causing their son's death.
The pair had lived off-grid and created their own bespoke belief system, with Tai Yasharahyalah styling himself as the head of a fictional country for which the couple made their own passports.While their trial finished in December, Abiyah's body was not laid to rest until July, something which has been difficult for his aunt.Abiyah and his mother lived with Ms Rowe, Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah's sister, for around six months from December 2016."He was just quiet, from what I saw he was just quiet and had a very timid nature," she said."He was just a normal boy, he liked his food and he used to like to go to soft play."She added: "The last time I saw him was just after he turned one."
As time wore on, relations became strained between the sisters as Naiyahmi's behaviour started changing."It was difficult when she was living with me," Ms Rowe said."We kind of fell out a bit towards the end of her being with me. She got back in touch with her husband and her behaviour started changing again."When Naiyahmi moved out with Abiyah, she didn't leave a forwarding address and moved out quickly."She messaged me a few times over social media, but the messages were really weird," Ms Rowe said."I saw posts on social media of him, so I wasn't concerned."
The 42-year-old said she hadn't been in Abiyah's life much over the last few years as his parents' beliefs meant they kept themselves to themselves.However, while living with her sister, she saw her as a normal first-time mother, stressing that she had no concerns about her parenting abilities at the time.In 2022, her world came crashing down when she found out what had happened to her nephew."No-one expects anything like this to happen," she said."I think, as a family, I feel like I failed him in a way. All you do is think of everything you should have done or could have done."
It has been a long and difficult wait, with trials and social service involvement, but on 1 July at Sutton Coldfield New Hall Cemetery, Abiyah was laid to rest."It was a small, intimate affair, with members of family on his mom's side," she said."No one came from his dad's."The service was organised by Birmingham City Council which owned the grave, before transferring its ownership over to Ms Rowe.But currently, Ms Rowe says there is just a stick in the ground marking young Abiyah's grave, and she is unable to afford the expense of a headstone for her nephew.Ms Rowe has launched a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise enough for a gravestone for Abiyah, saying: "I feel like I just want to be able to give him something nice."I just want him to have the best send-off."
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