Man accused of stealing gold toilet ‘used it day before raid’, court told

One of the men on trial over the theft of a £4.75 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace “took advantage of its facilities” the day before it was taken, a court was told.

Michael Jones, 39, told Oxford Crown Court it was “splendid”.

The fully-functioning 18-carat toilet, which had been installed as an artwork at the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born, was stolen in a raid in the early hours of September 14 2019.

It was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was a star attraction in an exhibition when it was stolen by sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way into the palace.

In January, Jones, 39, pleaded not guilty to burglary.

Jurors have been told that James Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, previously pleaded guilty to burglary.

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.

Jones said he did not know Guccuk or Doe before these legal proceedings but had worked as a roofer and builder for Sheen from around 2018.

The defendant agreed with prosecutor Julian Christopher KC’s assertions that he was effectively Sheen’s “right-hand man” and that he was trusted to arrange payments for his friend’s other employees.

Jones, from Oxford, visited the palace twice before the theft and he has denied these were reconnaissance trips.

He first went with his then-partner during a classic car show and the pair bought annual passes.

Photographs taken included a poster advertising the upcoming gold toilet exhibition and the window that would later be smashed in the theft, the court heard.

Sheen texted Jones asking for an update after their visit and the defendant told jurors he could not recall if he had responded.

In a subsequent voice note, Sheen said: “Lot of big men mate on my case, bruv, asking me what’s going on, they’re in Essex.

“They wanna come up and sort things out yeah… you know it’s a massive job.

“The boys are waiting on my call, so rather than me looking like a dickhead can you please call me and let me know what’s going on.”

Jones told jurors the message was about a re-roofing job in London, not his visit to the palace, and the men referenced were sub-contractors.

He said he could not remember where the two or three week-long roofing job was.

The day leading up to the theft, Jones spent around 90 minutes at the palace with the same woman, the court was told.

It was a Friday and the prosecutor asked why he had taken a half-day off work to return to the palace so quickly, rather than waiting until the weekend.

Jones admitted he did not usually book half-days off work to go to museums and exhibitions but it was because he “was interested to go and see it”.

Photos he had taken were again listed to the jury and one was of the window to the toilet.

Jones said he was capturing the view of the Union flags in the distance, not to assist any burglars.

A lock on the cubicle to the toilet was also photographed.

The defendant said it was because he thought it was “quite funny” you could lock yourself in the toilet.

He denied sending or showing the images to anyone, and that Sheen had asked him to take them.

Questioned if he “took advantage of” the gold toilet’s “facilities”, the defendant said yes.

Later asked what it was like, and Jones said: “Splendid.”

He said that after the palace trip he travelled to Milton Keynes to help Sheen collect a dog kennel.

The toilet artwork, entitled America, weighed approximately 98 kilos and was taken that night in a five-minute “audacious raid”.

Jones answered no comment in his police interview when asked what he was doing between midnight and 6am, the court heard.

He told jurors he had been asleep on his own.

The next day Sheen texted Jones “I’ll sort you a very good drink” which the court heard was slang for financial bonus.

Jones said it was a reward for sorting colleagues’ wages and not linked to the theft.

Sheen had offered bonuses before, he added.

The artwork was insured for 6.0 million US dollars (£4.75 million) and was made from gold which was itself worth about £2.8 million.

It is believed to have been broken up after it was stolen.

The thieves drove through locked, wooden gates into the grounds of the palace before breaking in through a window.

The trial continues.