A federal court has rejected the charges against a Minnesota man who is accused of hiding a stolen pair of the famous Ruby Red slippers from the Wizard of Oz because he died.
Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, was accused of theft of a large work of art and witness who grabbed last year in the case of the stolen slippers.
Seen as a mystery until the FBI found them in 2018, the iconic Robijnrode and Gliprande Slippers from the Judy Garland Museum were brought in the hometown of the deceased actor of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, almost two decades earlier.
Saliterman, who had been in poor health with lung diseases and other disorders, was planned to change his plea in January, but that hearing was postponed indefinitely after he was admitted to the hospital.
Federal Public Prosecutor Matthew Greenley reported the court on Monday in a one -page motion that Saliterman died on Sunday, but did not say how or where.
Judge Patrick Schiltz of the American district submitted the request and filed the charges on Monday.
Lawyer John Brink confirmed on Monday that his client had died, but refused to give details.
His indictment said that from August 2005 to July 2018, Saliterman received 'an object of cultural heritage', hidden and thrown away – in particular an authentic couple 'Ruby slippers' worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film.
Jerry Hal Saliterman (photo), 77, was accused of hiding a stolen pair of the famous Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz
The iconic Robijnrode and Glass Beads Slippers were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005
According to judicial files, Saliterman was admitted to the hospital at the beginning of January 'due to inability to walk and sepsis.'
He lived three days later his beforehand via video of what seemed like a hospital room.
In an update by the court at the end of last month, Brink told the court that his client had been fired in a hospice facility and that his prognosis was bad.
A corresponding letter from his doctor mentioned serious chronic obstructive lung disease that required additional oxygen and Parkinson's disease.
Saliterman was in a wheelchair and oxygen last March when he appeared his first court.
The crossbar red slippers were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown Grand Rapids.
Their place of residence remained a mystery for almost 13 years until the FBI found them in 2018.
According to Heritage Auctions, they picked up a record for Filmememorabilia of $ 32.5 million in December.
During the iconic film The Wizard of Oz from 1939, Garland wore different couples while playing the beloved character Dorothy
The recovered couple picked up a record for Filmememorabilia of $ 32.5 million in December, according to Heritage Auctions
Of the different couples Ruby slippers she wore in 'The Wizard of Oz', only four authentic couples remain.
Three are currently housed at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Smithsonian, and in a private collection.
Terry Jon Martin, 78, used a hammer to beat the glass of the museum's door and a case to steal them.
According to his lawyer, an old employee with connections told him that the shoes should be decorated with real jewelry to justify their insurance value of $ 1 million.
But he lost the slippers when he heard that they were fake and they came to Saliterman.
Martin argued guilty in 2023 and was sentenced last January to time that was served for his poor health.
