MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A man in the United States charged with the museum heist of a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the The Wizard of Oz was expected to change his plea to guilty in court, pulling back the curtain on a whodunnit mystery dating back 18 years.
Terry Jon Martin, 76, was indicted in May on one count of theft of a major artwork.
The shoes from the film were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the actress’ hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and recovered in 2018 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
No one was arrested in the case until Martin, who lives near Grand Rapids, was charged earlier this year. Martin’s attorney, Dane DeKrey, said his client, who is in poor health, has been cooperative with authorities.
“I think Terry is facing his own mortality and I think when people are reaching that point in their life, they cut through the pleasantries and talk turkey,” DeKrey said in an interview ahead of scheduled hearing.
The one-page indictment gave no details of the path that led investigators to Martin, who has a 1988 conviction for receiving stolen goods on his record and is free on his own recognisance.
Much of the government’s evidence has been covered by a protective order prohibiting its public disclosure.
