A self-styled raw food guru accused of killing his one-month-old son with a diet of sunlight and cold showers has apparently changed his mind and is now eating meat as he goes on trial over the baby’s death.
Deluded Maxim Lyutyi preached a harsh regime of uncooked food and sunlight to his social media followers.
But, say prosecutors, when he tried to raise his baby son in the same way, the helpless infant was starved to the point of death and then finished off when he was forced to have cold showers.
Lyutyi, they say, rejected all medicine and continued to spray the baby with cold water, claiming it would toughen up the child.
Horrified medics declared the baby dead when Lyutyi and the infant’s mother, Oksana Mironova, finally took him to hospital in March in a state of severe malnutrition.
The pair were arrested by police and now Lyutyi is facing up to 15 years in jail for his son’s death.
But in contrast to his starved baby, Lyutyi looked well-fed and healthy as he arrived at the Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi on 26th October for the start of his trial.
Incredibly, Lyutyi told reporters he had abandoned his strict eating regime after developing a taste for prison pasta and stew while he was awaiting trial.
He told reporters as he arrived at court: “I consume meat. And not just meat, but other products as well.”
Previously, Lyutyi, who preached to his social media followers that humans could feed on the sun’s rays, boasted that he had not fed his son so he would follow in his footsteps.
Prosecutors say that the baby’s health had severely declined due to the prolonged starvation.
Medics say the infant had developed pneumonia after Lyutyi’s attempts to make the boy immune to illness by spraying him with cold water. He told cops he rejected conventional medicine and does not trust doctors and even delivered the baby unaided at home.
Judges were told he pleads not guilt to causing his son’s death by negligence and blames his wife for the baby’s shattered health.
Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi said in a statement: “The blogger is accused of committing crimes under Article 156 and Part 4 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
“Currently, the case materials are being examined.
“The defendant does not admit guilt.”
In an earlier trial Lyutyi’s wife Oksana Mironova was jailed for two years in a correctional labour colony.