Man Who Stole ‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers Allowed to Die at Home

Judge's sentence is time-served and restitution for man with months to live.

The man who stole the ruby slippers of Wizard of Oz fame, now moves only by wheelchair and is on oxygen 24/7.

Doctors give him only months to live. His attorney said Monday’s sentencing gives at least partial closure to investigators, the museum, and Terry Jon Martin himself–the man who confessed to stealing the slippers.

“At the end of your life, in my experience, nobody wants to be dealing with anything but dying and resolving things with your family and friends,” said defense attorney Dane DeKrey. “So, he’s very relieved.”

DeKrey admits that having now been to Martin’s home many times–and helping with wheelchairs and oxygen bottles as well as his defense–he has become friends with the 76-year-old man. The man who stole the world-famous ruby slippers by smashing a glass display case at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids almost 20 years ago.

The museum’s founding director, John Kelsh, said he himself was an early suspect. Providing a victim statement at Monday’s sentencing, Kelsh told the judge how it affected the museum and him.

When asked outside the courthouse if he found any closure with the day, he nodded slightly and said, “In regard to the rumors about being an inside job, that was the most hurtful,” Kelsh said.

Kelsh said he never thought the slippers–one of only four known pairs in the world–would ever be seen again.

But in 2018 the FBI recovered them–thirteen years after they were stolen.

The trail eventually led to Martin, who after years of not cooperating, entered a guilty plea last October. But he still would not tell investigators everything he knew. DeKrey recalls being told repeatedly by Martin that his life of crime had a code.

“[Martin said] I’ve lived my whole life in this code, and that code is silence. And I’m not going to do it here, no matter the consequences,” said DeKrey.

DeKrey added, “We could have even done it today if we were really worried about what would happen. He could have made his proverbial ‘death bed’ confession, but …”

U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz said Martin’s crime–and 14th felony conviction–was not out of character. He described the crime as “extraordinarily stupid, extraordinarily selfish and extraordinarily impactful” on the community.

But the judge imposed the sentence agreed to by both sides. It included limiting the length of incarceration to the time already served, and $23,500 in restitution to the museum. The money is to be paid in $300 a-month payments by a man whose number of remaining months is unknown.

Kelsh says the museum has rebounded and is healthy and strong, but for five years it hung under a “cloud of suspicion.” He said at one point it was forced to sell part of its collection to raise funds.

“I think those slippers would have been on exhibit maybe every summer,” said Kelsh. “Other artifacts would have been on loan to the museum. Working on traveling exhibits with other museums. All this came into question. And so, a lot of missed opportunities there,” Kelsh said.

At the time of the theft, Martin had appeared to have gotten away from his life of crime. And over the years, his only other encounters with the law were DWI’s related to a drinking problem that DeKrey says Martin has addressed. But Martin says an associate talked him into just one more crime–believing the slippers’ shiny glass were actually precious gems.

DeKrey says Martin has often expressed regret about the decision.

“It would be exhausting to look over your shoulder for eighteen years. In the times in my life when I’ve made bad choices, I always wake up and think, ‘Is today the day?'” said DeKrey.

“Imagine that for him. Especially when you’re at the end of your life. So, I think he regrets it a lot. He told me that early on. I think that’s why he wanted to confess or talk about it. I think the other part is he is about to die, so like I said, he was clearing his side of the street so to speak, if you want to talk in A.A. terms.”

Although Monday’s sentencing was over, while standing on the courthouse steps answering questions from reporters, DeKrey was thinking about his client and friend’s future.

“Very soon he will have another sentencing hearing. He will have to make peace with his maker.”