A Decatur mother has been charged with multiple felony fraud and neglect charges years after her daughter drew the attention of Make-A-Wish Foundation for a disease the mother falsely claimed was terminal, according to Allen Superior Court documents.
Katherine Jackson, 41, is accused of lying about her child’s medical condition while also reportedly not refilling medication that had been prescribed to her daughter, as reported by WANE 15.
Make-A-Wish Foundation Gifted the Family a Trip to Disney World
In July 2021, a GoFundMe account attempted to raise money for Jackson’s daughter, who suffers from a disease called Pilarowski-Bjornsson Syndrome (PBS). According to the GoFundMe, the child suffered “80-90 seizures per day” due to another disease called Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS).
According to the National Institutes of Health, PBS is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms including delayed development and impaired intellectual development. Some patients may also have seizures.
The GoFundMe raised more than $1,600, and the child’s story prompted Make-A-Wish Foundation to approve a trip to Disney World for the child, her sister and Jackson. WANE 15 ran a story on the child’s illness in August 2022 after learning about the ties to Make-A-Wish.
Jackson told WANE at the time, “Only 10 people in the whole world ever had it and she’s the only survivor. It’s called Pilarowski-Bjornsson Syndrome. She will never get better.”
Hospital Staff Raised Concerns Over Medical Child Abuse, Doctors Learned that Jackson Was not Refilling Her Daughter’s Prescriptions
According to court documents, Jackson took her child to a hospital roughly three weeks after WANE 15’s story. During the visit, medical staff raised concerns over possible medical child abuse due to the child’s ongoing seizures and an irregular heart rate.
After being transported to the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, doctors reviewed the child’s medical records and learned Jackson had not been refilling her daughter’s many prescriptions, according to court documents.
Investigators also spoke to a doctor who specializes in genetics who did confirm the child was diagnosed with PBS and that it has no cure; however, he also said that PBS is a chronic illness and not terminal as Jackson had claimed, according to court documents.
Following the two hospital visits in August 2022, the child and her sister — who were 6 and 5 years old at the time — starting living with a foster parent.
During a conversation with police in April 2024, the foster parent told officers that the two children were neither in school nor potty trained when they took the children in. The person also noted the child with PBS suffered from delayed development regarding speech and physical attributes, according to court documents.
Johnson Told Others the Child’s Condition was ‘Terminal’ and That She Would Likely Not Live for Another Year
A psychologist who treated both children in late 2021 and early 2022 also told police she had been informed by Jackson that her sick child’s condition was “terminal” and that she had reportedly told her child she would likely not live for another year.
Jackson faces one count of fraud, a Level 6 felony, along with two counts of neglect of a dependent. One of the neglect counts is a Level 5 felony, and the other count is a Level 6 felony.
