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Dying man who stole Dorothy’s Wizard of Oz ruby slippers escapes jail term

Terry Jon Martin, 76, who is living in hospice care, stole slippers from Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005

A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz because he wanted to pull off “one last score” was given no prison time at his sentencing hearing Monday. He gave into temptation after an old mob associate told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1m insured value, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court ahead of his sentencing in Duluth. According to John Kelsh, founding director of the Judy Garland Museum, the slippers were returned to the collector and are being held for safekeeping by an auction house that plans to sell them after a promotional tour.

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