Terry Jon Martin might be one of the only people in America who never saw The Wizard of Oz when he was a kid.
If he had, then he might have understood that the ruby slippers, worn by Judy Garland in her legendary turn as Dorothy, weren't really made with precious stones. But Martin, who endured a rough childhood and spent much of his adult life in and out of prison, was oblivious to the film's cultural significance.
After a final prison stint that ended in 1996, Martin decided to go straight. He settled down in Grand Rapids, Minnesota — birthplace of Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm) and the home of the Judy Garland Museum.
In 2005, one of just four known remaining pairs of ruby slippers made for the film went on display at the museum, protected with a rumored million-dollar insurance policy. It was a fraction of actual value of the shoes, but still high enough that Martin believed an old mobster pal who insisted that the sparkle came from real jewels. The potential payoff was too big to resist, and Martin signed on for one last heist — a smash-and-grab that he hoped would be the score of a lifetime.
The theft was a success, but Martin ditched the slippers less than two days later, after a black market contact told him that the gems were all fakes. He went back to his regular life, but the slippers stayed missing until they resurfaced during an FBI sting in 2018.
Martin, now 76 and in hospice care, pleaded guilty to his crime in federal court last year, but declined to name anyone else who was involved. Instead of prison, he'll spend his remaining months of life on supervised release. He has not disclosed whether he's actually seen the movie yet.
