Wyoming Fire Chief on Trial for Starving Adopted Son to 54 Pounds
A doctor testified that 13-year-old boy resembled a "concentration camp survivor." Darrick Mittlestadt, fire chief in Laramie County, faces aggravated child abuse charges.
Wyoming Fire Chief Accused of Starving Adopted Son to 54 Pounds, Doctor Testifies
A child abuse physician described a 13-year-old boy as "wafer thin," "severely malnourished," and resembling a "concentration camp survivor" when he was hospitalized in June 2025 — testimony delivered Tuesday on the opening day of Darrick Mittlestadt's trial, Law & Crime reports.
Mittlestadt, who served as chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1 in Wyoming, and his wife Angela Mittlestadt, 49, were both charged with aggravated child abuse and conspiracy in connection with the alleged mistreatment of their adopted son.
"No muscle to the bone"
Dr. Andy Sirotnak, a child abuse physician, took the stand to describe the boy's condition upon admission to a hospital. The teen weighed just 54 pounds and had been diagnosed with cachexia — a complex metabolic syndrome marked by progressive, involuntary loss of body mass, including skeletal muscle and fat.
"No muscle to the bone," Sirotnak said, according to Cowboy State Daily.
"Common sense would tell you that if you saw a child or patient who looked like this, they needed care," Sirotnak testified.
Pediatricians who treated the child noted that the malnourishment was not recent and had caused arrested bone growth and joint development. His ribs, collarbones, and other joints were described in the arrest affidavit as "protruding and clearly visible." He was also missing much of the hair on his head.
Six Years in the Home
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office told Law & Crime last year that the Mittlestadts took in the boy — originally from Colorado — six years before his hospitalization. Angela Mittlestadt allegedly told an investigator: "F—ed up kid with trauma. I'm an idiot and thought I could help him."
According to the arrest affidavit, obtained by Cowboy State Daily and Wyoming News Now, the couple allegedly starved the boy because of the way he "behaved." The teen told investigators he was given crackers and protein shakes as rewards, and that his bedroom door had been blockaded for roughly two years.
"I'm only allowed to eat one meal a day since there's no point in giving me food," the boy reportedly told a police officer.
The victim also testified Tuesday, telling the court he was confined to his bedroom all day, in total darkness. "I didn't think I was supposed to turn it on," he said of the ceiling light, according to local radio station KGAB. He said he was fed one to three times a day — sometimes peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes ham sandwiches, or whatever the household was eating.
Wife's Guilty Plea, Husband's Trial
Angela Mittlestadt pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse under a deal expected to result in a sentence of 15 to 17 years in prison; she had faced up to 25 years. She is expected to testify against her husband during his ongoing trial.
Angela Mittlestadt told investigators that Darrick Mittlestadt frequently worked long hours and that managing the 13-year-old along with another younger child in the home was "overwhelming" for her, according to police. Authorities say Darrick Mittlestadt acknowledged responsibility for the boy's condition in his own police interviews.
"I failed everyone, because I didn't do my job," Darrick Mittlestadt allegedly said.
In June 2025, Angela Mittlestadt dropped the boy off at a Youth Development Center in Douglas, Wyoming, and instructed him to tell staff there that he "needed somewhere to live," the affidavit states. The boy told an interviewer he believed he was left there because he "wasn't very nice and did stuff he shouldn't have done such as wetting the bed and picking at himself."
He was transported to Colorado Children's Hospital on June 24, 2025, weighing 54 pounds.
The Laramie County Fire District No. 1 has not responded to Law & Crime's requests for comment.
Source: Law & Crime