"Nourished by the sun"

Influencer left his son to starve to death in agony

Maxim Lyutyi (44), a well-known influencer in Russia, is facing an eight-year prison sentence.

Influencer Maxim Lyutyi (44), who is very well-known in Russia, is facing an eight-year prison sentence for starving his one-month-old son to death. Baby Kosmos was not allowed to be breastfed by his mother as Lyutyi "only wanted to feed him sunlight".

According to media reports, Maxim Lyutyi planned to raise a child who would live exclusively on sunlight. He is also said to have regularly doused the infant with ice-cold water, as he believed this would give the boy strength.

Girlfriend watched her son slowly die
Before this tragic incident, the influencer had tried to shift responsibility onto his partner Oxana Mironova, who had already been sentenced to a two-year non-custodial sentence. She had not resisted Lyutyi's practices and had not rebelled.

Lyutyi, who presented himself online as a vegan raw food influencer, is said to have constantly tried to stop his partner from breastfeeding.

Neighbors described father as "extreme"
Neighbors described the 44-year-old as an extreme follower of raw food and claimed that he led a kind of cult. Secretly, however, he is said to have eaten pasta and meat.

Baby died on the way to hospital
When the couple finally decided to take their severely malnourished son to the doctor, it was already too late, reports German newspaper Bild. The baby died on the way to the hospital on March 8, 2023.

Lyutyi, who has been in custody for over a year, now faces a possible prison sentence of up to eight years as well as a fine for grievous bodily harm.