A Laramie County fire chief and his wife made their first appearances Wednesday on charges that they allegedly imprisoned and starved their 13-year-old adopted son. They then posted bond and were released from custody.
Darrick M. Mittlestadt and his wife, Angela Mittlestadt, both 49, face charges of aggravated child abuse and conspiracy to commit aggravated child abuse.
Prosecutors say they blocked the door of their now 13-year-old son’s room and starved him from Sept. 1, 2023, to June 22, 2025, according to court documents.
The couple was arrested Monday after arrest warrants for them were signed July 22. They are now free after each posting a $15,000 cash bond.
Laramie County Fire District No. 1 Human Resources Officer Elise Thibodeau said Darrick Mittlestadt’s status with the fire district was “not something I can discuss.”
Attempts to reach Laramie County Fire District No. 1 board chairman Butch Sanders were not immediately returned.
Court records show that an arrest warrant was served on Darrick Mittlestadt at 4 p.m. Monday and Angela Mittlestadt at 7 p.m.
Dropped Off
The investigation and charges against the pair were initiated after their 13-year-old son was dropped off at the Youth Development Center in Douglas on June 22 and he initially gave staff another name and an incorrect date of birth.
He told staff that his mom was homeless, and he did not know where she was or where to go, according to the arrest affidavit.
The Youth Development Center notified the Douglas Police Department.
“Douglas police officers noted that (the teen) was extremely thin and appeared severely malnourished,” the affidavit states. The teen’s “ribs, collarbones and other bones and joints were protruding and clearly visible on him due to how thin he was.”
The boy “also was missing much of the hair on his head,” according to an affidavit filed in the case.
One Meal A Day
He told a Douglas police officer that, “I’m only allowed to eat one meal a day since there’s no point in giving me food,” the affidavit states.
During a June 23 forensic interview of the teen in Casper, he told a Child Advocacy Project interviewer that his mom, Angela Mittlestadt, had dropped him off and told him to knock on the door and tell them he “needed somewhere to live.”
The affidavit alleges that the couple blockaded the teen’s door and that Angela Mittlestadt said her son would urinate and defecate in the room and “will lie about how they don’t allow him to use the bathroom.”
The boy told his forensic interviewer that he was given white bread, ham and vegetables to eat in one meal a day along with Zero Gatorade. He told the interviewer that “he wasn’t very nice and did stuff he shouldn’t have done” like “wetting his bed” and “picking himself.”
Angela Mittlestadt told a Laramie County Sheriff’s Office investigator that when they adopted the boy, he was dealing with trauma.
“I’m an idiot and thought I could help him,” she said.
Darrick Mittlestadt told the investigator that he and his wife adopted the 13-year-old and his younger brother because his wife had lost a family member and he believed that his wife coped with that loss by choosing to adopt the pair.
He said that he “failed” his son. “I failed everyone because I didn’t do my job,” the affidavit states he told the investigator.
In The Hospital
A call to Darrick Mittlestadt on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
Court documents show the younger boy, 5, has been taken into protective custody.
The teen is in a Denver hospital where he has been diagnosed with severe malnutrition. He arrived weighing 50 pounds, according to the affidavit. Staff at the hospital have not noted any “behavioral concerns,” the affidavit states.
A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Cheyenne Circuit Court.
Both charges against the couple carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
