Charges dropped after death of ruby slippers theft defendant

FARGO, N.D. — A federal judge has dismissed a federal indictment involving the theft of the iconic “Wizard of Oz” ruby slippers after the elderly defendant died over the weekend. 

In a court filing Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Jennifer K. Puhl requested the indictment filed against 77-year-old Jerry Hal Saliterman of Crystal be dropped after the defendant passed away on Sunday. The indictment against Saliterman says from August 2005 to July 2018, the defendant “received, concealed and disposed of an object of cultural heritage,” and maintains that Saliterman knew the slippers were stolen when he accepted them.

The judge in the case moved quickly Monday morning, dismissing the indictment against Saliterman. 

Federal investigators said Saliterman told them he placed the ruby slippers in a plastic container and buried them in his backyard, where they remained for approximately seven years. 

Saliterman was in ill health at the time he was charged, making his court appearance in a wheelchair as he was breathing from an oxygen canister.

The man who stole the slippers, 77-year-old Terry Jon Martin, pleaded guilty in 2023 to theft of a major artwork, admitting to what his attorney said was an attempt to pull off “one last score” after stepping from a life of crime for an extended period. Martin avoided jail time after a judge sentenced him last January to time already served because of his poor health.

Authorities have not shed light on how Martin and Saliterman may have been connected. Martin, who lives near Grand Rapids, said at his plea hearing in October 2023 that he hoped to sell what he thought were real rubies from the shoes after stealing them from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids in 2005. But a person who deals in stolen goods, known as a fence, informed Martin the rubies weren’t real, he said. 

Martin told authorities he got rid of the slippers but declined to say how he did so.

Garland’s character, Dorothy, wore several pairs while filming the classic 1939 musical but only four are known to remain. Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned his ruby slippers to the museum before Martin stole them. 

Shaw eventually got the valuable collectibles back and had them sold by a Dallas auction house, fetching a record $28 million. Tacking on a fee paid to the auction house, the total purchase price for the ruby slippers was $32.5 million.