Influencer jailed for starving 1-month-old son to death, putting him on 'sunlight diet'

Maxim Lyutyi has been jailed for starving his son to death. (Image: @kardiyobey/X)

A Russian influencer, dubbed a 'radical raw food fanatic', has been sentenced to eight years in prison for causing death of his month-old son who he only ‘fed’ sunlight. The infant, Kosmos, perished from "pneumonia and emaciation" while en route to a doctor's appointment in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Krasnodar, after being subjected to a bizarre dietary regimen reminiscent of Superman's fictional lore.

Maxim Lyutyi’s outlandish experiment stemmed from his desire for his son to emulate the legendary strength of the comic book hero, Superman, as revealed in court proceedings.

The 48-year-old influencer, with a substantial following of nearly 60,000 on Instagram, had taken to social media to share his unorthodox parenting methods, which included subjecting Kosmos to a strictly vegan 'prana' diet, supposedly deriving sustenance from spiritual energy-infused foods like berries.

The infant's mother, Oksana Mironova, was reportedly forbidden from breastfeeding her child, shackled by the dictates of her extreme dieting partner. Mironova's desperate attempts to secretly nourish her baby were thwarted by Lyutyi's unwavering belief in the 'sunlight diet' – an extreme practice, akin to breatharianism, which posits that one can subsist solely on sunlight.

Reports also surfaced of Lyutyi's insistence on toughening up Kosmos through exposure to cold water, underlining a disturbing pattern of neglect and pseudoscientific fervour.

Galina, Mironova's mother, expressed her regret at not intervening sooner, recalling her daughter's gradual estrangement under Lyutyi's manipulative influence. "Oksana lived there like a guinea pig," she lamented.

The harrowing saga culminated in Kosmos' untimely death due to malnourishment on March 8 last year. Lyutyi Despite initially attempting to deflect blame onto Mironova, Lyutyi eventually confessed to his role in his son's death, pleading for leniency in sentencing, citing negligence rather than malicious intent.

Now, the influencer has changed his ways and apparently is also eating meat in prison.

As the trial draws to a close, prosecutors are seeking a sentence of eight and a half years in prison, accompanied by a £900 (Rs 94,000) fine. The mother has got a two-year sentence of ‘correctional labour’.