IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON STATE OF WASHINGTON, DIVISION ONE Respondent, No. 79036-6-I v. OPINION PUBLISHED IN PART YESHAK KOTOU BEDADA, Appellant. DWYER, J. — After a series of alleged incidents of domestic violence, Yeshak Bedada was charged with three counts of assault in the first degree and one count each of felony harassment, witness intimidation, and witness tampering. All of these charges were primarily supported by the testimony of Bedada’s wife, Rahel Haile. At a jury trial, Bedada was acquitted of two counts of assault but convicted on all of the other charges. He now appeals, averring that, due to the trial court’s decision to exclude evidence of his immigration status, he was prevented from cross-examining Haile and revealing a motive for her to fabricate her testimony. His contention that this ruling was erroneous has merit. Accordingly, we reverse the convictions and remand for further proceedings. I Yeshak Bedada and Rahel Haile immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia as a married couple. The couple had four daughters, K.Y., S.Y., Y.Y., No. 79036-6-I/2 and E.Y., all of whom were born in the United States. Eventually, Haile became a United States citizen while Bedada remained a noncitizen resident. Over time, the couple’s marriage deteriorated. Haile became suspicious that Bedada was having an affair, a suspicion Bedada later confirmed. Bedada also became a heavy drinker and would often accuse Haile of infidelity. For years, Haile had sought a divorce, but Bedada refused and allegedly threatened to kill Haile if she proceeded. Haile testified that, on the night of December 26, 2016, she was roused from sleep by Bedada straddling her and demanding that she have sexual intercourse with him. Haile refused, prompting Bedada to state that he wanted to kill her and then strangling her to the point where she could not breathe. K.Y. and S.Y. were awakened by the noises coming from their parents’ bedroom and, upon entering the room, saw Bedada strangling Haile. K.Y. pushed Bedada off of Haile and both daughters then fled. Bedada followed his daughters into another room while continuing a tirade against Haile, who at this time believed that she would be dead before morning. Neither Haile nor her children telephoned the police, due to Bedada’s threats that he would kill Haile, the children, and himself should anyone do so. A similar incident was alleged to have occurred on the night of December 28, 2016. In a third alleged incident on January 2, 2017, Bedada grabbed Haile, threw her onto the sofa, and began strangling her with both hands. Haile screamed for help from K.Y., who immediately intervened. Bedada first yelled at 2 No. 79036-6-I/3 K.Y. and then left the house. Again fearful for her life, Haile did not contact law enforcement. However, K.Y. discussed these incidents with a school counselor, who contacted child protective services (CPS) to conduct an interview with K.Y. about Bedada’s behavior. CPS alerted the police, who first contacted Haile and then arrested Bedada. Bedada told ...
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