Police appeal for information as to whereabouts of gold toilet
As three men are convicted over the crime, Thames Valley Police believe the full picture is far from complete.
Last updated 19th Mar 2025
Police say charges over the theft of a £4.8 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace come after a 'complex' investigation, with 2,000 pieces of evidence.
3\9 year old Michael Jones of Oxford and 36 year old Fred Doe of Windsor were convicted yesterday (Tuesday 18 March) over the 2019 burglary, with 40 year old James Sheen of Wellingborough having previously pleaded guilty.
Jones was remanded in custody and Doe was released on conditional court bail. Sheen remains in custody serving a previous sentence.
Officers are still appealing for anyone who knows where the gold ended up to come forward.
The three will be sentenced at a later date.
The theft
In the early hours of 14 September 2019, a solid-gold toilet, worth an estimated £4.8 million, was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Woodstock.
The sculpture, called 'America' by artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a fully functioning toilet made of 18-carat solid gold, weighing around 98kg.
The exhibit went on display at the palace two days before the burglary, on 12 September 2019, with members of the public able to book use of the toilet in a room on the ground floor.
James Sheen put in motion a plan to steal the toilet. He sent Michael Jones to conduct a recce of the palace and its grounds on two occasions in the lead up to the burglary, on 7 and 13 September.
In the latter trip, Jones bought a Blenheim Palace membership and booked to use the toilet, taking photos of the sculpture, the room it was in and potential entry and exit points for the burglary.
At 4.50am on 14 September, the raid was carried out using two stolen vehicles, a VW Golf and an Isuzu truck, entered the palace grounds at speed.
Three offenders armed with sledgehammers and a crowbar gained entry to the palace, smashed through the solid wooden door and tore the toilet from its fixings.
They carried the toilet out of the palace, rolled it along the ground, and placed it into the boot of the VW before driving off the same way they entered.
What happened to the gold?
Police say at some point between 15 and 28 September, Sheen then made plans to sell the gold; it is believed to have been moved to different locations and melted down in the hours after the raid.
Fred Doe contacted Sheen and offered to find a buyer for the gold and brokered the deal.
During the deal-making, both men referred to the gold bars as ‘cars’, each worth £26,000.
Between 26 and 28 September, Sheen made trips to London and received the cash for the gold.
The arrests
Sheen and Jones were arrested on 16 October 2019 and initially released on police bail as there was insufficient evidence for a charge to be authorised at the time.
Guccuck was arrested on 14 November 2019 and Doe was arrested on 16 January 2020.
Our investigation continued with several significant lines of enquiry, including investigating the offenders’ mobile phones, complex and detailed forensic and DNA work, also had to be completed to help build our case.
All four men were charged on 6 November 2023.
Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell, head of Thames Valley Police Specialist Operations Department, said:
“The convictions relating to the Blenheim Palace golden toilet burglary are the result of a vast amount of work by detectives at Thames Valley Police.
“This has been a complex investigation with detailed forensic work, complex phone analysis and piecing together who planned the burglary of this unique piece of artwork, with an estimated value of £4.8 million.
“We made multiple arrests, investigated numerous scenes across the country, examined more than 2,000 exhibits, including CCTV enquiries, hundreds of statements, gathered a significant amount of intelligence, and looked into multiple lines of enquiry with our regional, national and international partners.
“All to find out who was behind the burglary, where the toilet had gone and who had profited from it.
“It is clear that James Sheen was man behind the burglary. The evidence we gathered against him in the case meant that his only option was to plead guilty to the offences he was charged with.
“Sheen recruited his colleague, Michael Jones, to carry out two recces of Blenheim Palace and the golden toilet, before executing a raid in the early hours of 14 September 2019 to steal the sculpture.
“In the days afterwards, Fred Doe came into the picture, offering to broker a deal to sell some of the gold to a contact of his which was carried out in late September.
“It is believed that Sheen also moved some of the gold through contacts in Birmingham.
“I am satisfied that Sheen pleaded guilty to his offences, and he will continue to serve time in prison for his crimes, as he was previously convicted of defrauding elderly and vulnerable people as well as the theft of money from cash machines and the organised theft of agricultural machinery.
“It is clear that Sheen has only one intent, and that is to do whatever he can to steal money and property regardless of the impact it has on others and communities.
“Jones was clearly keen to assist Sheen in the burglary, carrying out the recces on his behalf and it is our case that he benefitted financially from the crime and we believe he also was present at the raid.
The jury has also found that Doe assisted Sheen by enabling the gold to be converted into cash funds through its sale.
“Thames Valley Police is committed to not only investigating criminals and bringing them before the courts to face justice and time in jail, but we will also be looking at ways to recover cash and assets in relation to these crimes.
“Asset recovery is complex, and criminals involved are becoming more sophisticated in the ways they try to keep their criminal profits from being recovered and put back in the hands of innocent and law-abiding victims.
“However, Thames Valley Police will look to exploit every opportunity we can to recover assets made from the Blenheim burglary.
“Additional financial investigations are also actively ongoing with our partners for a significant amount of assets related to previous criminality linked to Sheen.
“We have already obtained a Serious Crime Prevention Order for Sheen following a previous conviction, which will be in place for five years upon his release from prison.
“As part of the investigation a number of other arrests were made but further charges could not be brought and it is clear that there are others who were involved in this crime.
“If anyone has information that they have not already come forward with in relation to the burglary or the sale of the gold, then we would encourage them to get in touch with Thames Valley Police or Crimestoppers.
“Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to praise the incredible work of all of those involved in this investigation. Without their determination and expertise, these convictions would not have been possible.”
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