Masseuse arrested after marrying man, 78, then visiting his bank

Love or money?

Issaquah police say a masseuse's marriage last month to a 78-year-old man who suffers from dementia had more to do with an effort to drain the man's bank account than an attempt at wedded bliss.

The massage therapist, Sujinda Yahatta, and Kulany Roeksbutr were arrested Thursday for investigation of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree theft after employees at an Issaquah nursing home said the two women took the man from the home without permission.

The women told employees at Greenwood Point Adult Family Home that they were taking the man out for lunch, but Issaquah police say they instead took him to a Bellevue courthouse, where he and Yahatta were married.

Their next stop, say police, was a nearby Bank of America branch. Once there, police say, Yahatta tried to close out the man's bank account but was foiled by bank employees.

Yahatta, 56, and Roeksbutr, 29, are scheduled to appear in King County District Court this afternoon and could be charged in felony court as early as today, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

Yahatta and Roeksbutr, who are out of jail, could not be reached for comment.

When police interviewed the man after the wedding he was confused about what was going on and said that he didn't know either woman, according to a police report. Several days after the wedding, the man told authorities he didn't remember getting married to Yahatta, who briefly worked as his massage therapist.

The Times is not naming the man because of his vulnerability.

An employee at the nursing home told police that she forbid Yahatta and Roeksbutr from taking the man to lunch on Nov. 22 but they ignored her. The employee told police she was taken aback by Yahatta's attire for lunch and a trip to the park — a black dress and high heels.

King County District Court Judge Janet Garrow had received a call from Yahatta on Nov. 19 asking her to perform the wedding for $150, the police report said. Authorities said Yahatta applied for the license Nov. 19.

The man's guardian, Eldon Kenney, 73, of Bellevue, told police he was stunned when he received a call on Nov. 22 from a Bank of America teller who said two women were trying to drain the man's account.

One teller told police the elderly man wanted to close his accounts and that the two women requested a cashier's check for the balance of nearly $23,000, according to police.

One bank employee told police the man had a "vacant" look on his face.

Yahatta showed tellers a copy of the couple's marriage certificate. But employees were suspicious and one called Kenney, whose name was on guardianship paperwork filed at the Bellevue bank.

According to police, after Kenney received that phone call he froze the man's account. Bellevue police arrived at the bank and investigated but made no arrests. The case was turned over to Issaquah police.

"I just can't believe it," said Kenney, who hired Yahatta to work as his friend's massage therapist. "She was so friendly and I don't know why it happened."

David Nold, the man's civil attorney, is pushing to have the marriage annulled, but he said Yahatta refuses.

"You can annul a marriage if it hasn't been consummated or there has been fraud. We want it to happen quickly, before she [Yahatta] makes some claim at a later date this was a bona fide union," Nold said. "She was trying to take advantage of an elderly person."

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com