Imposing 'Sunshine' Diet, Influencer Starves His Newborn To Death

Russian influencer and raw food fanatic Maxim Lyutyi, who starved his newborn son to death on a 'sunshine diet', has been jailed for eight years. Lyutyi believed that putting his infant, Kosmos, on a raw food-based diet would give him superhuman abilities. He had allegedly wanted to 'raise a man who only eats the sun' and had subjected the newborn to cold showers as well as starvation. The child passed away of pneumonia and malnutrition on 8 March 2023 while being rushed to a nearby hospital. 

Why Did Influencer Use 'Sunshine Diet'?

The child's mother, Oksana Mironova, had made attempts to feed the child, who was less than one month old at the time, but was prevented by Lyutyi. Mironova's cousin recalls that he forced her not to feed the baby. "She was secretly trying to breastfeed the baby, but was afraid of Maxim." Mironova's own mother attempted to send her money to buy baby food, but it wasn't enough. Lyutyi had rejected traditional medical care, forcing Oksana to give birth at home.

He would allegedly force the child to subsist on berries, justifying that a plant based diet has spiritual effects. He then later switched the newborn into a fully sunshine diet. The child soon developed breathing problems and signs of exhaustion. But by the time Lyutyi agreed to admit the baby into a hospital in Sochi, the child had passed away. The couple was soon arrested.                                                                

Lyutyi had over 60k Instagram followers and was also running a course called 'The Living Man', teaching clients his lifestyle. Mironova's mother was against her daughter staying with Lyutyi, accusing him of running a ''sect''. "I told her that Maxim was crazy, but she didn't listen to me." Another relative recalls being scared of Lyutyi, calling him a "radical food fanatic".  But by the time of his imprisonment, he had abandoned his practice and was eating meat and pasta. 

In the initial phases of the trials, Lyutyi had attempted to pass the blame onto the child's mother, claiming that her years as a vegan had made her iron-deficient and the baby premature. Later on, he admitted to death by negligence, however still maintaining that he never intended to kill his child. 

"I fully admit my guilt that through my inaction and frivolity, I caused the death by negligence of my long-awaited, beloved firstborn."

Lyutyi was sentenced to eight years in prison and 900 pounds in fine, while Mironova was sentenced to two years of hard labour.