Federal charges against the man accused of hiding a stolen pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore 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 in May in connection with to the 2005 theft in 2005 of the iconic shoes Garland wore 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 the hearing was postponed indefinitely after he was hospitalized on Jan. 3.
Court documents say prosecutors informed the court of Salitermann's death 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.
Salitermann had been hospitalized in early January because of an "inability to walk and sepsis," court documents said. He attended his arraignment three days later by video call from what looked like a hospital room, according to The Associated Press.
Defense attorney John Brink told the court last month that Salitermann had been discharged from the hospital but that his prognosis was poor. A doctor's note submitted to the court noted Parkinson’s disease and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring supplemental oxygen as diagnoses.
Salitermann was accused of hiding the pair of ruby red slippers that were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Garland's hometown, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005. The slippers' location remained a mystery for 13 years before the FBI received a tip.
The slippers were auctioned for a record $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.
