Felony charges for hired masseuse who married nursing-home patient

A woman who is accused of coercing a 78-year-old man with dementia to marry her so she could gain access to his bank account has been served with annulment papers and charged with three felonies.

Sujinda Yahatta, 56, appeared briefly in King County District Court on Tuesday and learned that prosecutors are charging her with first-degree kidnapping, attempted theft and obtaining a signature by deception or duress.

If convicted of the three felonies she could face up to seven years in prison.

Yahatta, who was hired as the man's masseuse, and co-defendant Kulany Roeksbutr, 29, who was charged with the same three criminal counts, must return to court on Dec. 30 for arraignment.

Attorney Vanessa Schiodtz, whose law firm is seeking the annulment on behalf of the alleged victim, said that when she handed Yahatta the annulment papers the Bellevue woman claimed that the man insisted on the marriage.

"She said he begged her to marry him. That she didn't do anything wrong," said Schiodtz. "She said she didn't force his signature on the marriage license."

Schiodtz said that if Yahatta doesn't reply to the paperwork within 20 days, the attorney can ask a judge to sign off on the annulment without Yahatta's permission.

According to Issaquah police, Yahatta claimed the man's guardian was stealing money from him and she thought that by marrying him she could become his guardian and protect him.

Yahatta and Roeksbutr were arrested Thursday after an investigation of several weeks by Issaquah police. The two women were booked into the King County Jail and soon released on $25,000 bail.

When felony charges were filed on Tuesday, a judge signed off on a warrant for them to be rearrested. Each will be held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

According to police, Yahatta and Roeksbutr took the man from the Greenwood Point Adult Family Home in Issaquah on Nov. 22 against the wishes of staff members.

The women, joined by Yahatta's ex-husband, then drove to King County District Court in Bellevue for a scheduled wedding ceremony before Judge Janet Garrow. The judge told police that she had been hired to perform the ceremony for $150.

After the wedding the women took the man to a Bank of America branch in Bellevue, where Roeksbutr showed a teller the marriage license and asked to close the man's accounts, police said. The women requested a cashier's check for the balance of nearly $23,000, according to police.

Tellers called police after noticing that the man had a "vacant" look on his face.

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

The man's guardian, Eldon Kenney, 73, of Bellevue, said he was stunned when he received a call on Nov. 22 from a bank teller who said two women were trying to drain the man's account. Kenney said that he has known the 78-year-old man for almost 40 years and has never stolen from him.

Kenney had hired Yahatta to be the man's masseuse, but employees at the Greenwood Point Adult Family Home said that Yahatta only came in to talk with him, police said. Yahatta is not a state-licensed massage therapist.

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