Man charged with stealing Ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’
A man has been charged with stealing a pair of famous ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the actress’ hometown, nearly 18 years ago.
The red-sequined pumps were recovered during a sting operation that ended in Minneapolis in 2018, but authorities at the time said their investigation was continuing and they did not name any suspects.
On Tuesday, a federal indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota charged Minnesota’s Terry Jon Martin with stealing an authentic pair of slippers, which officials estimate have a market value of $3.5 million, from the Judy Garland Museum sometime between August 27 and August 28, 2005. Mr. Martin was charged with one count of theft of an important work of art.
The one-page indictment contained no further details about the case. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Martin had a lawyer. Can be reached by telephone at his home on Wednesday, Mr. Martin said The Minneapolis Star Tribune that he should go to court, adding, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Janie Heitz, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum, said in an interview Wednesday that she was investigating to find out if Mr. Martin had any connection to the museum, though she was certain he was not an employee.
“It’s a breakthrough in the case, which is good,” she said. “We are excited, speechless, anxious.”
The slippers were stolen by someone who broke in through a back entrance and destroyed the plexiglass display case containing the shoes. With no fingerprints or security camera footage, police had few leads. All that was left was a lone red sequin.
Federal, local and private investigators pursued various theories over the years, and eventually a private donor offered a $1 million reward for locating the shoes, worn by Garland while filming the 1939 movie. three other pairs used in filming were known to survive.
A break in the search came in 2018 when someone approached the insurance company that owned the shoes, claiming to have information about the slippers and how to return them. It soon became clear, officials said, that the person was trying to extort money from the company.
Investigators from the FBI’s art crime unit, along with other federal agents in Chicago, Atlanta and Miami, staged a sting operation to recover the slippers. Authorities said they had not paid any reward money.
When the shoes were stolen, they belonged to a collector in North Hollywood, California, and were loaned to the museum, which opened in 1975 in the home where Garland lived as a young child.
The Judy Garland Museum had the shoes on display in 2005 during an annual festival in honor of the actress. Strictly speaking they are not a pair; the left and right shoes are slightly different sizes and are considered to be the sizes of the left and right shoes housed in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
In “The Wizard of Oz”, Mrs. Garland played Dorothy, clicks with the heels of the ruby slippers three times and utters the words, “There’s no place like home,” and magically transports himself back home to Kansas.
Ms. Heitz said on Wednesday that although the shoes had been recovered in 2018, they had remained in federal custody as evidence in the case. She said she hoped they could one day be returned to the museum and put back on display. They are widely regarded as one of the most recognizable cultural objects in American film.
“If there’s a chance to get them,” Ms. Heitz said, “we’ll be happy to have them in Minnesota.”