Darrick Mittlestadt Testifies: ”I Failed Him” And ” I’m Not A Good Dad”

Darrick Mittlestadt took the stand to testify in his trial on charges of aggravated child abuse and conspiracy on Wednesday afternoon in Laramie County District Court.

Called to testify by his defense attorney, Crystal Stewart, Mittlestadt was asked by Stewart how he could miss the poor condition of his adopted son. E.M. Mittlestadt paused for quite some time before answering, "Obviously I missed the signs...I'm not a good dad."

Mittlestadt told the court that E.M. had always been skinny and looked young for his age. Regarding the boy not being fed, Mittlestadt repeatedly said his wife, Angela, told him the boy was being fed, and that the family's grocery bill seemed to support that.

He said Angela also claimed to be homeschooling E.M., and his conversations with the boy seemed to confirm that.

Mittlestadt Said Discussions About E.M. Led To Fights With Wife

Several times during his testimony Wednesday afternoon, Mittlestadt repeated the same theme: questions about the boy's well-being elicited responses from Angela of ''I've got this' and further discussion led to verbal battles.

Mittlestadt said that around the middle of 2024, Angela began cutting him out of family decisions entirely, with the understanding that he would take care of the younger adopted son, N.M., while Angela would oversee E.M. Assistant Laramie County Jack Hatfield asked Mittlestadt, "So, you, the Fire Chief, are being told what to do about your son by your wife?"

Mittlestadt answered, ''Yup."

Mittlestadt also testified that for the three or four months prior to Angela dropping off E.M. at the Youth Development Center in Douglas on June 22, 2025, he didn't see the boy other than "as a blur" going the short distance from E.M.'s room and the bathroom and back.

Mittlestadt said he was concerned about the boy, but every time he broached the subject, he was told that Angela was handling the situation and there was no cause for concern.

Angela, however, did tell him that the boy was smearing feces on his bedroom wall and was urinating in his room. Mittelstadt said at one point he saw feces on the wall, while two other times he didn't see any evidence of such behavior, but Angela told him it had happened.

Says Angela Refused To Tell Him About Plans For E.M.

Finally, he said Angela said she had picked out someplace to take E.M. to help with the alleged misbehavior. But when he asked where, she told him, "I'm not going to tell you"

Mittlestadt said that on three separate occasions leading up to June 22, he raised the issue. But each time she refused to tell him, leading to a verbal confrontation.

Hatfield asked Mittlestadt if he had tried checking with his insurance company to see if any arrangements had been made for placing the boy in a facility. Mittlestadt said he hadn't.

Under questioning from Hatfield, Mittlestadt admitted that ''I failed him" regarding getting medical care for the boy and checking to make sure the boy was being fed and cared for by Angela, as she allegedly claimed.

But he denied allegations that E.M. was being locked in his room at night, saying the boy seemed to want to spend time alone in his room. He said E.M. had at one point told him that he hated him and the entire family.

After Angela dropped off the boy at the Douglas facility on June 22, he was transferred to Children's Hospital in Aurora. Medical testimony from a doctor at that facility on Tuesday indicated the boy was extremely malnourished, weighed only 54 pounds, and was in dire medical condition.

Mittelstadt told the court he had no idea where E.M. had gone until a police detective told him.