Bride, accused of marrying for money, wants to stay wed

A Bellevue masseuse who whisked an elderly client away from his nursing home last month for a quickie wedding followed by a trip to a bank, where tellers say she tried to empty his account, wants to stay married.

Sunjinda Yahatta, 56, married the 78-year-old man with dementia out of love, not a desire to drain his bank account, her attorney said Tuesday after Yahatta was arraigned on three felony counts. Yahatta and a friend pleaded not guilty to first-degree kidnapping, attempted theft and obtaining a signature by deception or duress — charges that could bring a seven-year prison sentence.

Yahatta, who was hired as the elderly man's masseuse, has been served with annulment paperwork but she said after Tuesday's hearing that she has not filled out the papers. Des Moines attorney David Gehrke, who is representing Yahatta, told her not to comment any further.

In court papers, co-defendant Kulany Roeksbutr, 29, said Yahatta married the elderly man because she was worried his guardian was stealing from him. Gehrke said the couple are in love.

"There was a long-term relationship. They talked about marriage," Gehrke said.

Yahatta is not a state-licensed massage therapist. Staff at the Issaquah nursing home where the man lived told police they had never seen her massaging the man, only coming in to talk with him, court paperwork said.

Superior Court Judge Julie Spector ordered Yahatta, who is from Thailand, to surrender her passport. While prosecutors have argued she is a potential flight risk, Gehrke said if Yahatta was going to flee the country, she would have already.

"If she was going to go, she wouldn't have hired me. She would be sending us postcards from Phuket or Bangkok," Gehrke said in court.

Yahatta and Roeksbutr are accused of taking the man from the Greenwood Point Adult Family Home in Issaquah on Nov. 22 against the wishes of staff, according to charging documents. The women had told staff they were taking him to lunch, but Issaquah police say they instead took him to a Bellevue courthouse where he and Yahatta were married, charging papers said.

After the ceremony 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 the man had a "vacant" look on his face.

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

When police interviewed the man after the wedding he was confused about what was going on and said he didn't know either woman, according to a police report. Several days after the wedding, the man told authorities he didn't remember marrying Yahatta, police said.

Gehrke believes the man grew confused after police and nursing-home staff questioned him about what happened. Gehrke said officials at the Bellevue courthouse describe the man as understanding what was going on before and after the ceremony.

Attorneys at a Bellevue law firm who delivered the annulment paperwork to Yahatta last month say if she doesn't sign the papers they can ask a judge to order the marriage be ended.

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