Mittlestadt Child Abuse Trial Moved Back To August 24

The trial of a former Laramie County Fire Chief and his wife on charges of aggravated child abuse has been moved back to August 24th.

The trial was set to start on Monday, July 20. But the attorneys for Darrick and Angela Mittlestadt asked the judge to vacate that date. Judge Peter Froelicher granted the motion and set a new trial date of August 24 at 9 a.m. The case is slated for a jury trial, as opposed to a bench trial, where a judge decides the case rather than a jury.

Under Wyoming Law, aggravated child abuse carries a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.

Case Has Been Rescheduled Several Times

The Mittlestadt case has been rescheduled several times. At one point it was slated for November of last year, then January of 2026. it was then listed as scheduled for a March trial date. After that, it was slated for April 27, 2026, but was later moved to July 20.

Darrick Mittlestadt was Chief of Laramie County Fire District 1 when he and his wife were arrested in July of last year. The district website no longer mentions anyone as being fire chief, and his name does not appear under leadership. Ben Hopkins is listed as ''Interim Assistant Chief."

The Mittlestadts are charged in connection with a 13-year-old boy the couple adopted in Colorado in 2018. According to court papers in the case, the boy, identified as EM, was allegedly restricted to one meal a day. When he was taken to Children's Hospital in Colorado on June 24, 2025, he allegedly weighed only 55 pounds and had no detectable levels of Vitamin D.