A 38-year-old Salem woman made her first appearance in Marion County Court Friday on a forgery charge for allegedly changing a doctor’s note to indicate her child had a medical condition she did not have.
Elizabeth ‘BethAnn’ Parker appeared with a private attorney for the hearing. She was released on pre-trial conditions pending her next court appearance on September ninth for a preliminary hearing.
Parker was arrested on Thursday afternoon after State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth issued a warrant for her arrest. Hudspeth filed the forgery charge following an investigation by Illinois State Police at the request of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
The investigation started after a large fundraiser was held to help pay the medical expenses of the child who was not actually ill.
The forgery charge states that Parker “with intent to defraud, knowingly delivered a false or altered document apparently capable of defrauding another, being a document purportedly from a doctor at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital dated 01/7/2026 which states a minor child was undergoing treatment for a medical condition the child did not have.”
Hudspeth says the investigation is ongoing, but he elected to move forward with the forgery charge now since that part of the investigation is complete.
