Tragedy and Two Billboards: The Story Behind The #KeepKadeHome Campaign
The woman behind the billboards say Kade's father has been denied due process by a corrupt judge, Dave and Tracy Piepel and Ted Fukuzawa say they just want to see their grandson
On January 13, 2022, a young mother named Taylor Fukuzawa was traveling with her three-year-old son Kade on Highway 28, just outside East Wenatchee in Douglas County, Washington. She stopped to help someone remove a deer from the roadway, leaving her young son in her vehicle for a moment.
Then she was struck by a vehicle and tragically killed.
Kade’s father, Bryce Bitterman, became the sole custodial parent after Taylor’s death.
Fukuzawa’s parents, Tracy Piepel and Ted Fukuzawa, as well as her stepfather Dave Piepel, said that Taylor and Kade had lived with with Piepels for “a significant amount” of their grandson’s life. They say they were extremely close with their young grandson.
But they say not long after their daughter’s death Bitterman refused to allow them to see their grandson.
So they filed a “Petition for Visits” in Douglas County Superior Court in September 2022. In December, Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ordered Bitterman to allow the child’s grandparents in-person visitation, including one weekend a month and extended periods during the summer, as well as regular electronic communication.
Bitterman appealed that decision almost a year to the day after Taylor’s death, petitioning the state Supreme Court to review the case. The Court denied that request, the Piepels’ attorney Beth Bratton, wrote.
“On January 4, 2023, Bryce appealed the decision allowing us visitation with Kade to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals dismissed Bryce’s appeal,” Bratton wrote. “On October 9, 2023, Bryce filled a Petition for Review to the Washington Supreme Court. The Washington Supreme Court denied Bryce’s Petition for Review. As a result, the visitation schedule from December 5, 2022, remains in place.”
Bitterman persisted in his refusal to obey that visitation schedule and Huber held him in contempt of court, resulting in fines that continue to accrue to this day. But by the fall of 2022, Bitterman had taken his son and moved to New Mexico.
This prompted Huber to issue a civil bench warrant for Bitterman, making him a fugitive.
Angie Coles, Bitterman’s aunt, says that her nephew never denied visitation to Kade’s grandparents, he was not given due process, Judge Huber is corrupt and the Piepels are lying when they say they have never sought custody of Kade.
She said her great-nephew has PTSD and separation anxiety due to the trauma he has been through and their mental-health professional gave Bitterman instructions that are contrary to what the court ordered.
“Kade’s councelor said he’s not supposed to have visitation without his father,” she said. “And no overnight visitation.”
Since August of last year, Coles has been on a mission to inform the community about what she sees as a miscarriage of justice. She said there’s no precedent in Washington State where the courts have removed a child from the custody of a fit parent.
Early this year in an act reminiscent of the protagonist’s in the film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” she even put up two billboards on the North end of Wenatchee Avenue.
“Bryce and Kade Deserve A Fair Trial,” one reads.
The other bears the #KeepKadeHome hashtag Coles created as a part of the Facebook campaign she has been pursuing for more than a year, providing almost daily updates on the case.
But the Piepels maintain they never sought custody, and say that Coles is deliberately misinforming the public.
“Throughout this matter, we have always felt this was a private matter,” they wrote. “It has been heart breaking to know that Angie Coles has created a campaign that has misinformed the public, blasted our grandson’s name everywhere and created answer and hositility in many people simply because she cannot accept that three courts in the State of Washington have ultimately granted and approved our right to see our grandson, the son of our deceased daughter.”
Despite Bitterman’s actions up to this point, the Piepels say that they have been and still are open to meeting directly with Bitterman.
You can read their full statement here.
Coles too, said she hopes the two parties can come to an agreement and suggested mediation might help.
You can watch a full-length interview with Coles above.
Both the Piepels and Coles said they want what’s best for Kade.
A Q&A With Beth Bratton, The Piepel’s Attorney
During the course of reporting this story, I reached out to Judge Huber to get his perspective but he did not respond to my request for comment.
I also asked the Piepel’s attorney, Beth Bratton, about some specific legal issues. Seeing as this is a civil case, I wanted some more clarity about what Huber issuing a warrant for Bitterman means from a law enforcement point of view.
Here is our Q&A about that and a few other points of interest:
DB: My only other question has to do with trying to contextualize the unique legal situation this case represents. Has there ever been a case quite like this in Washington state to your knowledge?
BB: There’s no easy way to search for other cases under RCW 26.11 that are at the Superior Court level in our 39 counties. The situation cannot be unique. If it were unique, the Legislature would not have taken the time to write the statute. The unusual component is Mr. Bitterman absolutely refusing to follow a courts order.
DB: Is there precedent for the courts taking custody away from a parent who does not comply with court orders and giving it to the grandparents?
BB: It’s very important for me to make clear: my clients are not seeking custody, only visitation. Their Petition for Visitation was filed under RCW 26.11. Any claim that my clients are trying to take Kade from his father would be false, inflammatory and disgusting. If someone wanted to take custody from a parent, they would file a Petition for Minor Guardianship under RCW 11.130.190. That is not what this case is about nor did my clients file this type of Petition for Minor Guardianship. My clients only filed a Petition for Visitation with their grandson, Kade.
DB: If Huber has declared Bitterman a fugitive, does that carry with it criminal charges? Why can’t law enforcement from Washington go and arrest Bitterman and bring him back?
BB: The civil bench warrant that is issued only requires detainment of Mr. Bitterman until visitation starts with my clients and Kade. There are currently no criminal charges that I am aware of as a result of this civil case. There is a process to enforce a warrant in chain states, if Mr. Bitterman’s whereabouts were known to law enforcement. My clients certainly hope it doesn’t come to this for them to have a visit with their only grandson, Kade. Mr. Bitterman has advised the Court he moved to New Mexico which I don’t believe is a chain state where law enforcement will enforce the warrant.
DB: And as I understand it Bitterman is currently in contempt of court and there are fines that come with that. Do you have a total sum for how much he has been fined for his non-compliance since this case began?
BB: A finding of contempt can carry financial sanctions that includes a civil penalty ordered by the court and/or attorney fees. I went back and looked at the 9 contempt orders that have been entered to determine a total as this has not been a focus or a priority for my clients. With the contempt orders in this case, there is $61,250 in civil penalties, $8,798 in attorney fees, and $36.20 in costs owed by Mr. Bitterman. In the contempt order entered on March 14, 2024, my clients agreed that all prior and current contempt’s and judgments shall be deemed purged if visitation started and continued with Kade. Further, my clients have not taken any steps to enforce these judgments.
My Two Cents
I have gone about the process of reporting this story with something Tracy Piepel said to me at the forefront of my mind. She said whatever I write about this, someday Kade will probably read it.
That thought calibrated my whole approach.
For many months I deliberately ignored this story – even as folks reached out to petition me to look into it.
I didn’t, and still don’t, think that billboards or public opinion will affect the actions of a Superior Court Judge or impact the outcome of a civil trial.
However Coles’ persistence in messaging, and the fact she got billboards put up, has created a conversation and left people with questions.
For that reason, and the fact the story has been entirely ignored by local “legacy” media outlets, I decided to write on it.
I hope I have helped bring clarity to this case by giving both sides the chance to speak and be heard. And I hope that how I have handled this story will not bring any more pain to the Piepels, Mr. Fukuzawa or to a future version of Kade himself.
Taylor’s death is a tragedy of a magnitude so great the English language fails to provide us with words that can even come close to describing the heartbreak her loved ones must have felt, and must still feel, at her loss.
I have seen much heated debate and angry words lobbed this way and that over this case online, and that is disappointing. I hope this piece in some small way reminds folks that this is a story about real woman, a young mother, who lost her life tragically – leaving behind a little boy who will now grow up without his mom.
If this story does anything, I hope it reminds us all how fragile and precious life is, and how each moment with our loved ones should be cherished. And if it spurs any action I hope that rather than causing you to spin your wheels arguing with a stranger online it inspires you to pick up the phone, call your mom and tell her that you love her.
Sources:
Read the facts submitted to the State Supreme Court here
Read the Petition for Visitation filed by the Piepels and Fukuzawa’s attorney here
After reading I was left with the thought that this whole thing runs deeper; questions such as, "What's really the driving force behind Cole's obsession?" And, "what's behind Bitterman's denial to the grandparents?" It wasn't until I read a commenter's mention that Ted was strongly connected to the GCC that a possible answer fell into place.
Tracie said it all. Someday this young boy is going to read all this. Thanks for respecting that. You gained a subscriber.