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Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Malay Mail
Luxury loo larceny: Two men jailed for ‘bold and brazen' US$6m gold toilet heist at Churchill's birthplace
LONDON, June 14 — Two men were jailed yesterday for stealing an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibition at Winston Churchill's birthplace. The fully functioning toilet, a work titled America by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Palace in southern England, a major tourist attraction and Unesco World Heritage Site. Prosecutor Julian Christopher told jurors at the start of the trial at Oxford Crown Court in February that a group of five men had driven two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on September 14, 2019. They broke in through a window, smashed down a wooden door, ripped the toilet from the wall and left after five minutes in the building. The toilet, weighing 98 kilos was insured for US$6 million (RM25 million). Prosecutors say it was probably divided into smaller amounts of gold to sell it off. None of the gold has ever been recovered. James Sheen, 40, had pleaded guilty before trial to burglary, conspiring to convert or transfer the gold and converting or transferring the gold. Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary by a jury, having pleaded not guilty. Judge Ian Pringle said the pair had played important roles in the 'bold and brazen heist', though the judge said he could not be sure that Jones was present during the burglary. Sheen was sentenced to four years in jail, with the sentence to begin at the end of a separate jail term of nearly 20 years he is currently serving for a series of thefts. Jones was sentenced to 27 months in prison. — Reuters
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Men who stole US$6M golden toilet from English mansion sentenced to prison terms
An 18-karat toilet, called 'America,' is shown in the restroom of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in this Sept. 16, 2016 video screenshot. (AP Photo) LONDON — Two men who stole a US$6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced Friday to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million (US$3.5 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than US$6 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for US$6.2 million at auction in New York. 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than 5 1/2 minutes to complete,' Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime. 'America has never been seen again.' The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience 'splendid' during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Brian Melley, The Associated Press
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
UK jails men who stole US$6 million golden toilet from mansion
Two men who stole a US$6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced on Friday to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace – the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born – when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98kg) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the gold at the time was £2.8 million (US$3.5 million), but it was insured for £4.7 million. Guests wait for access to the exhibit of Maurizio Cattelan's 'America' a fully functional solid gold toilet, at The Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2017. Photo: Reuters The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for US$6.2 million at auction in New York.
Washington Post
13-06-2025
- Washington Post
Men who stole $6 million golden toilet from English mansion sentenced to prison terms
LONDON — Two men who stole a $6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced Friday to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- The Independent
Men who stole $6 million golden toilet from English mansion sentenced to prison terms
Two men who stole a $6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced Friday to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million ($3.5 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than $6 million).
