Federal charges against the man who allegedly hid a stolen pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” were dropped Monday after the suspect died.
Jerry Hal Salitermann, 77, was charged with theft of a major artwork and witness tampering last May, connecting him to the 2005 theft of the iconic shoes worn by Garland in the 1939 film classic.
According to prosecutors, Salitermann had been in poor health with lung disease and other ailments. He had been scheduled to change his plea to guilty during a court date in January, but that hearing was postponed indefinitely after he was hospitalized on Jan. 3.
Court documents say that prosecutors informed the court of Salitermann’s passing on Sunday through a motion filed Monday, leading U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz to grant the request and drop the charges. The motion did not specify how or where Salitermann died.
The suspect had been hospitalized in early January due to an “inability to walk and sepsis,” court documents said. He attended his arraignment three days later via video call, from what looked like a hospital room, according to the Associated Press.
Defense attorney John Brink told the court in February that Salitermann had been discharged from the hospital, but that his prognosis was poor. A doctor’s note submitted to the court noted severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring supplemental oxygen and Parkinson’s disease as diagnoses.
Salitermann is accused of hiding the pair of ruby red slippers that were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the screen legend’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2005. The slippers’ location remained a mystery for 13 years before the FBI received a tip.
Those same slippers were auctioned for a record-breaking $32.5 million in December, making them the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction.
They are one of four pairs that survived from the film.
