Minnesota Man Charged With Theft of Ruby Slippers 18 Years Later

When you steal something this iconic, there has to be some sort of bad karma that comes along with that crime.

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The ruby red slippers from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz were in a museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Grand Rapids is the birth place of Judy Garland who played Dorothy in the famous movie.  13 years ago, they were stolen.  They were recovered 13 years later in 2018.  Who stole them remained a mystery until now.

The Minneapolis Star/Tribune named the man who has now been charged in the theft.

Terry J. Martin, who lives about 12 miles south of the museum named for the hometown hero, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Minnesota on a charge of theft of major artwork in connection with breaking in overnight, smashing a Plexiglas case and taking the size-5 ½ slippers that were then on loan to the museum from a Hollywood collector.

The Star/Tribune tried to reach out to Martin for a statement, and all he would say is that he was going on trial and didn't want to speak to any of their reporters

Apparently the indictment didn't specify where the shoes were for 13 years, so that is still a mystery.  And who knows if Martin will disclose that information, but you have to think that IF he does testify, that would be a question that he would be asked to answer.

And since these shoes were on loan to the museum you'd have to assume that there was a hefty insurance policy on the shoes that may have been paid out. What happens with that money now that the have been located and a suspect indicted? These are questions along with a lot more that will come out in the trial.

But for now, Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers are now back in safe hands. I can't even imagine how fragile those tiny shoes must be.