Thief admits stealing 18-carat gold toilet worth £4.8m from Blenheim Palace – as three other men appear in court to deny charges related to the theft
- The installation took place in the palace, near the room where Winston Churchill was born
A thief has admitted stealing an 18-carat gold toilet worth a whopping £4.8 million from Blenheim Palace, while three other men pleaded not guilty to charges linked to the theft.
James Sheen today pleaded guilty via videolink at Oxford Crown Court to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to do the same.
The 39-year-old was speaking from HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, where he is already serving a 17-year prison sentence for a series of thefts, including from ATMs.
Sheen, from Wellingborough, previously stole £400,000 worth of tractors and valuable trophies from the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket.
Michael Jones, 38, Frederick Does (formerly Sines), 35, and Bora Guccuk, 40, all pleaded not guilty to charges related to the theft of the toilet, which was taken in September 2019 while it was part of an art installation featuring the title ‘America’.
During the exhibition, visitors could look at and even sit on the statement toilet, which was designed by artist Maurizio Cattelan and placed in the palace, near the room where Winston Churchill was born.
The installation was initially installed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where 100,000 people lined up to use it before it moved to Blenheim.
James Sheen (pictured), 39, has admitted stealing an 18-carat gold toilet worth a whopping £4.8million from Blenheim Palace, while three other men have pleaded not guilty to charges linked to the theft
The toilet (photo) was taken in September 2019 while it was part of an art installation entitled ‘America’
During the exhibition, visitors could look at and even sit on the statement toilet, which was designed by artist Maurizio Cattelan and placed in the palace, near the room where Winston Churchill was born (photo: the empty space left after the toilet was taken)
The installation was initially installed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where 100,000 people lined up to use it before it moved to Blenheim (pictured)
Michael Jones (pictured, left), 38, Frederick Does (formerly Sines) (center), 35, and Bora Guccuk (right), 40, all pleaded not guilty to charges related to the toilet theft, which was carried out in September taken. 2019 while part of an art installation entitled ‘America’
Jones (pictured, leaving Oxford Magistrates’ Court in November) is charged with burglary
Guccuk (pictured, leaving Oxford Magistrates’ Court in November) is charged with conspiracy to transfer criminal property, as is
At the time of the theft, artist Cattelan said he hoped the theft was a prank and asked “who is stupid enough to steal a toilet?” (The work entitled) America was the one percent for the 99 percent’.
Meanwhile, the palace’s director, Dominic Hare, said he hoped the “senseless” theft would “immortalize” the work before the stately homes’ “sophisticated security system” would be defended.
The boss added that it was “deeply ironic” that a work “depicting the American Dream” and the elite object made available to all was “immediately torn away and hidden from view.”
Jones, who is charged with burglary, and Does and Gucciuk, who are charged with conspiracy to transfer criminal property, will stand trial on February 24, 2025.