Psychologist charged with raping a patient kills self in jail cell

February 22, 2018

Dean Funabiki, a 67-year-old psychologist from Washington, was found dead in his jail cell Sunday night as he was being held on sexual assault charges.

Officers at Whitman County Jail found Funabiki unconscious and hanging from a bed frame in his jail cell Sunday night. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.  

Funabiki was due in court Monday after turning himself in on second-degree rape charges Friday evening. Second-degree rape covers instances where the victim is the patient of a health care provider and the perpetrator is the provider.  

A woman in her 40s reported Funabiki to the police following the alleged assault. DNA tests collected from the woman matched Funabiki, leading to the filing of charges.

SOURCE: Sean Devlin, "Therapist and psychologist who 'raped one of his female patients' hangs himself with a bed sheet in his jail cell just 24 hours before his first court appearance," Daily Mail, 19 Feb 2018, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5411043/Psychologist-dead-rape-charges-filed.html.