A Laramie County fire chief and his wife pleaded not guilty Thursday in Laramie County District Court to starving and imprisoning their 13-year-old adopted son.
Darrick M. Mittlestadt and Angela Mittlestadt, both 49, appeared before Laramie County District Court Judge Peter Froelicher on charges of aggravated child abuse and conspiracy to commit aggravated child abuse.
Darrick Mittlestadt is the fire chief for Laramie County Fire District No. 1.
Their attorney, John Hummel, waived the reading of charges against them during a short 4-minute arraignment before the judge.
Assistant District Attorney Jack Hatfield II objected to Hummel’s joint representation of the couple, asking the court to order that they be represented by separate attorneys.
“There is already clear conflict of interest in this case as evidenced by statements that Mr. Mittlestadt made to law enforcement that are clearly conflicting,” he said. “And Mr. Mittlestadt is clearly blaming the other defendant.”
Froehlicher told the prosecutor that he “should have filed a written motion” and would not address his objection at the arraignment hearing.
“It certainly sounds like a valid issue. I don’t know if you have discussed it with Mr. Hummel,” the judge said. “You’re making your record but I’m not even going to rule on it or ask Mr. Hummel to respond. I will ask you to file a written motion, please.”
The couple individually told the judge they understand the charges against them and were OK that the charges were not read.
Making Their Pleas
The judge asked Angela Mittlestadt how she would plead.
“Not guilty,” she said.
“Mr. Mittlestadt, to the two counts in (the court file) how do you plead?” Froelicher asked.
“Not guilty,” Darrick Mittlestadt said.
The judge said he would accept their pleas and set the case for a Nov. 24trial.
As Froehlicher earlier initially advised all those in the courtroom being arraigned about their rights and was going over their rights to be represented by an attorney, a fire alarm sounded in the courthouse.
“All right, we’ve got to go,” the judge said.
He reversed course a minute or so later after hearing from building security that it was a false alarm.
Dropped Off In Douglas
The charges against the Cheyenne couple stem from an investigation that began on June 22 after their emaciated 13-year-old son — with “ribs, collarbones and other joints protruding” — was dropped off at the Youth Development Center in Douglas and provided a false name and incorrect date of birth.
The teen 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 police affidavit says.
During a June 23 forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Project in Casper, the teen told an interviewer that his mom, Angela Mittlestadt, had dropped him off in Douglas and told him to knock on the door and tell them he “needed somewhere to live.”
Living Conditions
The boy described his living conditions at the Mittlestadt home as having his bedroom door blocked with heavy items from the outside so that he couldn’t leave his room, according to court documents.
He told his interviewer that he “wasn’t very nice and did stuff he shouldn’t have done such as wetting the bed and picking at himself.”
His diet consisted of white bread, ham and vegetables once a day along with “Zero Gatorade.” He was just getting one meal because of the way that he “behaved,” he told the interviewer.
During an interview with a Laramie County Sheriff’s Office detective on June 23, Angela Mittlestadt told the investigator that when she got the teen as a boy, he was homeless, malnourished and a “f***ed up kid with trauma.”
“I’m an idiot and thought I could help him,” she told the investigator, according to the affidavit.
She alleged that he refused to do school, lacked feeling, remorse, empathy and “didn’t care about rewards or consequences.”
Darrick Mittlestadt told the investigator that his wife had lost a family member several years ago and believed that adopting two boys was how she “dealt” with that loss.
He said he and his wife fed the boy, but that he rarely slept. He said he was often away from home because of his job.
“I failed everyone because I didn’t do my job,” he said.
The teen told authorities that items had been taken from his room and that he never left the house in Cheyenne except to shower or brush his teeth.
Not Allowed To Leave Room
He told his interviewer that he had not been out of the house for two years and was not allowed to leave his room, watch TV, play with his brother or go to the fire station with his dad, the affidavit says.
Authorities took their younger adopted son, 6, into protective custody.
Darrick Mittlestadt denied that the teen had been in the house for years.
He said he would walk around the property with the boy and look for cactus, but that the child was so thin and weak he could not use a shovel to dig. So, he would dig cactus for him.
Both parents said the teen lied about things and urinated and defecated in his room.
The teen told his interviewer that his room’s door had been blocked.
On June 24, the teen was taken to Denver Children’s Hospital. When he arrived, he weighed 50 pounds and had undetectable levels of vitamin D. The affidavit stated that he would have to remain in the hospital for weeks to gradually increase his caloric intake.
The hospital noted that he was “eating appropriately” and had no behavioral concerns with the boy. Doctors reported that his malnourishment had affected his bone growth and development, the affidavit states.
Both the aggravated child abuse and conspiracy to commit aggravated child abuse charges carry potential penalties of up to 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The Middlestadts both remain free on separate $15,000 bonds.
Froehlicher said he would set Nov. 24 as a tentative trial date.
It's unclear if Darrick Mittlestadt is still the Laramie County Fire Distict No. 1 chief. Messages leff with the fire district weren't immediately returned Thursday. The fire district's automated phone system has a prompt urging callers to press 0 "For Fire Chief Darrick Mittlestadt's Office." On the fire district's website, a photo of Middlestadt is on the "Staff" tab next to a section titled "Leadership;" however, clicking through to view the leadership personnel, two others are listed but not Mittlestadt.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
