Darrick Mittlestadt was fire chief in Laramie County, Wyoming. At home, while he put out other people’s fires, his 13-year-old adopted son was wasting away until he weighed barely 23 kilograms.
A physician specializing in child abuse described him as a “concentration camp survivor” when examining him. The teenager told authorities that he ate only once a day and had not left the house for two years, except to shower or brush his teeth. It all ended on June 22, 2025, when they left him at a youth development center in Douglas, Wyoming, and someone finally asked questions.
His wife, Angela Mittlestadt, has already pleaded guilty and accepted 15 to 17 years in prison. Darrick, by contrast, decided to face trial. This week he took the stand in Cheyenne and, through tears, limited himself to saying that he was not “a good father” and that he had failed to pay attention in his own home. He could face up to 50 years in prison if the jury does not believe him.
