Left: Angela Mittlestadt (Laramie County Sheriff’s Office). Center: Laramie County Fire District Chief Darrick Mittlestadt (Laramie County). Right: Darrick Mittlestadt (LCSO).
A Wyoming fire chief allegedly starved his 13-year-old adopted son until the boy became “wafer thin” and “severely malnourished,” weighing just 54 pounds and appearing to a doctor like a “concentration camp survivor,” testimony revealed this week.
Dr. Andy Sirotnak, a physician specializing in child abuse cases, testified Tuesday on the opening day of Darrick Mittlestadt’s trial. He described the boy’s condition after the child was hospitalized in June 2025.
“No muscle to the bone,” Sirotnak said, according to Cowboy State Daily.
When the boy was admitted, doctors diagnosed him with cachexia, a serious metabolic syndrome involving the progressive, involuntary loss of body mass, including muscle and fat, Sirotnak testified. The physician said the teenager looked “extremely ill” and resembled a “concentration camp survivor,” Cowboy State Daily reported.
“Common sense would tell you that if you saw a child or patient who looked like this, they needed care,” Sirotnak told the court.
Mittlestadt, who served as chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1, and his wife, Angela Mittlestadt, are charged with aggravated child abuse and conspiracy in connection with the alleged mistreatment of the 13-year-old.
Angela Mittlestadt, 49, pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse under a deal expected to result in a 15- to 17-year prison sentence. She originally faced a possible sentence of up to 25 years.
Cowboy State Daily reported that Angela Mittlestadt is expected to testify against her husband during his trial.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office previously told Law&Crime that the couple took the boy into their home six years ago.
Angela Mittlestadt allegedly described the child to an investigator as a “F—ed up kid with trauma.” She also reportedly said, “I’m an idiot and thought I could help him,” according to LCSO officials.
An arrest affidavit obtained by the Cowboy State Daily and Wyoming News Now alleged that the couple withheld food because of the boy’s behavior. Investigators said the child reported receiving crackers and protein shakes as rewards, while his bedroom door was blocked for approximately 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 an officer, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said the boy’s ribs, collarbones, and “other bones and joints” were visibly protruding because of his extreme weight loss. It also alleged that he had lost “much of the hair on his head.”
Police said Angela Mittlestadt told investigators that her husband was frequently at work and that caring for the 13-year-old, along with another younger child in the home, had become “overwhelming.” Authorities allege that Darrick Mittlestadt accepted significant responsibility for the boy’s condition during interviews.
“I failed everyone, because I didn’t do my job,” Darrick Mittlestadt allegedly told investigators.
According to the affidavit, Angela Mittlestadt brought the boy to a Youth Development Center in Douglas in June 2025 and instructed him to tell staff that he “needed somewhere to live.” When asked why, the boy reportedly said he “wasn’t very nice” and had done things he should not have, including wetting the bed and picking at himself.
The boy, who is originally from Colorado, was taken to Colorado Children’s Hospital for treatment on June 24, 2025, after police said he was found weighing only 54 pounds. Pediatricians determined that his malnutrition had been ongoing and had affected the development of his bones and joints.
The victim testified Tuesday that he was confined to a bedroom throughout the day, where he lived in complete darkness, according to local radio station KGAB.
“I didn’t think I was supposed to turn it on,” he said when asked about the ceiling light.
The boy told the court he was fed “one to three times a day,” according to KGAB, “sometimes peanut butter sandwiches or PB&J sandwiches.” Other times, he said he had ham sandwiches or “what they ate,” KGAB reports.
The Laramie County Fire District No. 1 has not responded to Law&Crime’s requests for comment.
The post Little boy who wouldn’t stop ‘picking at himself’ was starved by fire chief and wife until he resembled ‘concentration camp survivor’: Doctor first appeared on Law & Crime.
