Questions Stay After Man Pleads Responsible To Stealing ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Ruby Slippers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A person charged within the museum heist of a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore within the “The Wizard of Oz” pleaded responsible Friday in a deal that might hold him out of jail because of his failing well being, however solely cleared up a few of the thriller that dates again 18 years.

Terry Jon Martin, 76, pleaded responsible to a single rely of theft of a significant paintings. The footwear have been stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum within the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and recovered by the FBI in 2018.

Nobody was arrested till Martin, who lives close to Grand Rapids, was charged this 12 months. Throughout his change-of-plea listening to in federal courtroom in Duluth, Martin mentioned he used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum door and show case to take the slippers. He mentioned he thought the slippers had actual rubies and that he had hoped to promote the gems. However when a fence advised him the rubies have been glass, he mentioned he removed the slippers.

Martin didn’t say how he removed them or to whom he gave them, leaving the slippers’ whereabouts in the course of the ensuing years a thriller. He did say that the theft had nothing to do with making an attempt to get insurance coverage cash, as some have speculated.

“Terry has no idea where they were and how they were recovered,” Martin’s legal professional, Dane DeKrey, mentioned afterward. “His involvement was that two-day period in 2005.”

Underneath the plea settlement, DeKrey and federal prosecutor Matt Greenley beneficial that Martin not face any time behind bars due to his age and poor well being. Martin, who appeared in courtroom in a wheelchair with supplemental oxygen, has superior persistent obstructive pulmonary illness and struggles to breathe, DeKrey mentioned. The proposed sentence would let Martin die at house, the legal professional mentioned.

“He’s basically slowly suffocating to death,” DeKrey mentioned.

Martin, who has a 1988 conviction for receiving stolen items, remained free on his personal recognizance after the listening to. U.S. District Decide Patrick Schiltz, the chief federal decide for Minnesota, ordered a presentence investigation and mentioned he’d doubtless schedule the sentencing for about 2 1/2 months from now.

Schiltz advised Martin that he isn’t legally sure by the sentencing suggestion by the protection and prosecution. Based on DeKrey, the nonbinding federal sentencing tips beneficial eight to 10 years in comparable instances.

The U.S. legal professional’s workplace mentioned it will don’t have any remark till after Martin is sentenced.

Garland wore a number of pairs of ruby slippers throughout filming of the basic 1939 musical, however solely 4 genuine pairs are recognized to stay. The stolen slippers have been insured for $1 million, however federal prosecutors put the present market worth at about $3.5 million.

The FBI mentioned a person approached the insurer in 2017 and mentioned he might assist get them again. The slippers have been recovered throughout an FBI sting in Minneapolis. The FBI has by no means disclosed the way it tracked down the slippers, which stay within the company’s custody.

The slippers have been on mortgage to the museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw when Martin stole them. Three different pairs that Garland wore within the film are held by the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American Historical past and a non-public collector.

A number of rewards have been provided through the years in hopes of determining who stole the slippers, which have been key props within the 1939 film. Garland’s character, Dorothy, has to click on the slippers’ heels 3 times and repeat, “There’s no place like home,” to return house to Kansas.

Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, till she was 4, when her household moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969.

The Judy Garland Museum, which is in the home the place she lived, says it has the world’s largest assortment of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

This story was corrected to point out that nonbinding federal sentencing tips have beneficial eight to 10 years in comparable instances, not 10 to 12 years.