GRAND RAPIDS, MN (KXNET) — A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to stealing the famous red slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz‘ from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota back in 2005.

A pair of ruby slippers once worn by actress Judy Garland in the “The Wizard of Oz” sit on display at a news conference on Sept. 4, 2018, at the FBI office in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Federal prosecutors say a man has been indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, on charges of stealing a pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” The FBI recovered the slippers in 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, File)

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an investigation revealed that in 2005, Terry Jon Martin stole an authentic pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz,” from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. At the time of theft, the slippers were ensured for $1 million but current fair market appraisal value the slippers at $3.5 million. The ruby slippers, which were recovered by the FBI and Grand Rapids Police Department in July 2018, are one of the four remaining pairs and are widely viewed as among the most recognizable memorabilia in American film history.

Martin pled guilty before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, Duluth, MN to one count of Theft of Major Artwork, an object of cultural heritage from the care, custody, or control of a museum.

A sentencing date for Martin has not yet been scheduled.