The raid on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, happened during an exhibition in 2019 showcasing the expensive artwork, called ‘America’
An “audacious raid” was carried out to steal a £2.8 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, a court has heard.
It is believed that the distinctive fully functioning toilet, entitled America, which had been installed as an artwork at the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born, has now been split up and disposed of, Oxford Crown Court was told. The toilet, which was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a star attraction in an exhibition when it was stolen by sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way into the palace.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC said the raid took just five minutes, adding: “This case concerns the theft of a work of art from Blenheim Palace in September 2019. It was an unusual work of art, being a fully functioning toilet made of 18 carat gold, entitled America.
“It weighed approximately 98kg and was insured for the sum of $6million (£4.75million). The gold it was made from was itself worth in the region of £2.8million at the time.”
Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, pleaded not guilty in January to stealing artwork in an overnight raid in the early hours of September 14, 2019. Frederick Sines, 36, also known as Frederick Doe, of Winkfield, Windsor, Berkshire, and Bora Guccuk, 41, from west London, each deny one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
The court heard that the sledgehammers were left at the scene. A photograph was taken about 17 hours before the toilet was stolen and the prosecution allege that Jones had taken it while he was “there as part of the reconnaissance for the burglary”.
Mr Christopher added: “The work of art was never recovered. It appears to have been split up into smaller amounts of gold and never recovered.”
It was alleged that Doe and Guccuk agreed to help one of the men who carried out the burglary – a defendant called James Sheen – to sell some of the gold in the following weeks. Jurors were told that a fourth defendant, Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has previously pleaded guilty to burglary. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property, at Oxford Crown Court in April 2024.
