A Wyoming fire chief deliberately starved his 13-year-old adopted son, reducing him to a state of severe malnourishment that left him weighing a mere 54 pounds. A physician who examined the boy during his hospitalization in June 2025 and testified on the first day of Darrick Mittlestadt’s trial this week described the child as appearing “wafer thin” and bearing the emaciated look of a “concentration camp survivor.”
Dr. Andy Sirotnak, a specialist in child abuse medicine, stated that upon admission, the boy presented with “no muscle to the bone” and carried a diagnosis of cachexia, a complex metabolic syndrome defined by the progressive involuntary depletion of body mass, including skeletal muscle and fat. The doctor characterized the child’s appearance as resembling a concentration camp survivor, noting that he “looked extremely ill.”
“Common sense would tell you that if you saw a child or patient who looked like this, they needed care,” Sirotnak asserted from the witness stand.
Prosecutors charged Mittlestadt, who served as chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1, alongside his wife, Angela Mittlestadt, with aggravated child abuse and conspiracy in connection with the alleged mistreatment.
Angela Mittlestadt, 49, entered a guilty plea to aggravated child abuse as part of an agreement expected to result in a 15- to 17-year prison sentence, avoiding a potential maximum penalty of 25 years. Reports indicate that she plans to testify during her husband’s trial.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office confirmed last year that the Mittlestadts assumed guardianship of the victim six years prior. According to LCSO officials, Angela Mittlestadt informed an investigator, “F,ed up kid with trauma. I’m an idiot and thought I could help him.”
The arrest affidavit, reviewed by the Cowboy State Daily and Wyoming News Now, detailed how the couple allegedly starved the 13-year-old in direct response to his behavior. Investigators recorded the boy stating that he received crackers and protein shakes only as rewards and that his adoptive parents blockaded his bedroom door for approximately two years.
The teen reportedly told a police officer, “I’m only allowed to eat one meal a day since there’s no point in giving me food.”
Medical and investigative findings indicated that the boy’s ribs, collarbones, and other joints protruded sharply from his emaciated frame, and he had lost much of the hair on his head. Angela Mittlestadt admitted to investigators that managing the 13-year-old and another younger child in the home felt “overwhelming,” particularly given her husband’s frequent work obligations. Authorities noted that Darrick Mittlestadt accepted substantial responsibility for the boy’s condition during his police interviews, stating, “I failed everyone, because I didn’t do my job.”
In June 2025, Angela Mittlestadt delivered the teen to a Youth Development Center in Douglas and instructed him to inform a representative that he “needed somewhere to live,” according to the affidavit. When questioned about his mother’s actions, the boy explained that he “wasn’t very nice and did stuff he shouldn’t have done such as wetting the bed and picking at himself.”
Originally from Colorado, the boy was transferred to Colorado Children’s Hospital on June 24, 2025, for urgent medical treatment. He weighed only 54 pounds at the time of admission. Pediatricians who treated him determined that the malnourishment had persisted over an extended period and resulted in arrested bone growth and joint development.
Local radio station KGAB reported that the victim took the stand on Tuesday and informed the court he remained confined to a bedroom throughout the day in total darkness. Regarding the overhead light fixture, he stated, “I didn’t think I was supposed to turn it on.”
The boy testified that his adoptive parents fed him “one to three times a day,” with meals sometimes consisting of peanut butter sandwiches or PB&J sandwiches. He noted that on other occasions, he received ham sandwiches or simply “what they ate.”
The Laramie County Fire District No. 1 has not responded to requests for comment.
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