Expected guilty plea for man in 'Wizard of Oz' ruby slippers case postponed due to hospitalization

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A hearing where a Minnesota man was expected to plead guilty to hiding a stolen pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” was postponed indefinitely Wednesday after his attorney told the court that the man is hospitalized.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz granted the continuance at the request of the attorney for Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of Crystal, who was planning to change his plea to guilty at a hearing that was scheduled for this coming Friday.

Defense lawyer John Brink said Saliterman was hospitalized Jan. 3 “for inability to walk and sepsis,” an infection that can be life-threatening. He wrote that Saliterman remained hospitalized Wednesday and that doctors do not know when he will be available. Federal prosecutors did not object.

Saliterman attended his arraignment Monday via video from what looked like a hospital room. He was in a wheelchair and on supplemental oxygen last March at his first court appearance. He was charged then with theft of a major artwork and witness tampering for his role in the ruby slippers case.

The slippers were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids. Their whereabouts remained a mystery for nearly 13 years until the FBI recovered them in 2018. They fetched a record for movie memorabilia of $32.5 million last month, according to Heritage Auctions.

The man who stole them, Terry Jon Martin, now 77, of Grand Rapids, pleaded guilty in 2023. He was sentenced last January to time served because of his poor health.