According to authorities, a fire chief in Wyoming and his spouse are suspected of starving and mistreating their adopted 13-year-old boy, making him “wafer thin” and “severely malnourished” to the point where he weighed 55 pounds at the time of the alleged abuse.
Local police have accused Darrick Mittlestadt, the chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1, and his wife, Angela Mittlestadt, with aggravated child abuse and conspiracy in connection with the alleged mistreatment.
The Mittlestadts turned themselves in on Monday, and the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office informed on Tuesday that they were being charged. According to Brandon Warner, public information officer, Angela Mittlestadt stated in police interviews that the couple adopted the child six years prior.
According to reports, Angela told an investigator, “F—ed up kid with trauma,” She added, “I’m an idiot and thought I could help him,” Warner said.
According to their arrest document, the two accused the 13-year-old of starvation because of his “behavior.” According to reports, the youngster informed detectives that his bedroom door was blockaded for around two years and that he was rewarded with crackers and protein powders.
The teenager allegedly informed a police officer, “I’m only allowed to eat one meal a day since there’s no point in giving me food,” according to the affidavit.
According to the paper, his ribs, collarbones, and “other bones and joints” were “protruding and clearly visible on him due to how thin he was.” Additionally, he was without “much of the hair on his head.”
According to officials, Angela Mittlestadt informed detectives that Darrick Middlestadt works a lot and that managing the 13-year-old and another smaller child in the house was “overwhelming” for her. According to authorities, Darrick Middlestadt bears a large portion of the responsibility for the events that transpired in his police interviews.
Darrick is accused of saying, “I failed everyone, because I didn’t do my job,”
According to the affidavit, Angela Middlestadt dropped the boy off at a Douglas Youth Development Center in June and instructed him to inform a representative that he “needed somewhere to live.” When the interviewer asked the boy why she would do that, he replied that he “wasn’t very nice and did stuff he shouldn’t have done such as wetting the bed and picking at himself.”
According to investigators, the boy, who is originally from Colorado, weighed only 55 pounds when he was brought to the Colorado Children’s Hospital on June 24 for medical care. According to the pediatricians who treated the infant, the malnourishment was not recent and was accompanied by halted joint and bone development, according to police.
