Two men sentenced for theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from Blenheim Palace
Two men have been given more than six years combined for the gold toilet heist at Blenheim Palace
Last updated 13th Jun 2025
Two men have been sentenced to more than six years combined at Oxford Crown Court for the theft of a gold toilet worth approximately £4.8 million from Blenheim Palace.
James Sheen, aged 40, of Wellingborough, has been given four years behind bars after pleading guilty to burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property, and transferring criminal property.
Michael Jones, aged 39, of Oxford, has also been sentenced to 27 months after being found guilty of burglary following a four-week trial.
A jury also found Fred Doe, aged 36, of Ascot, guilty of one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, who has already received a suspended sentenced of 21-months.
Entitled America, the toilet weighed approximately 98 kilogrammes, was insured for six million US dollars (£4.75 million) and was made from gold which was itself worth about £2.8 million.
Passing sentence, Judge Ian Pringle KC said: "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete.
"America has never been seen again."
Sheen was jailed for four years and his sentence will run consecutively to the 19 years and four-month sentence he is currently serving for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary and fraud.
"You were part of the gang of five men who smashed their way into Blenheim Palace that night and stole the hugely valuable golden toilet," the judge said.
"You were almost certainly the figure that carried the sledgehammer on which your DNA was found and which was used to sever the functioning toilet from its connecting pipes.
"I say straight away I have no doubt at all that the sentence I pass must be consecutive to the sentence you are currently serving.
"Not to do so would be to send out a message that you did this without any penalty at all."
Judge Pringle jailed Jones for 27 months after concluding he could not be sure he was part of the gang that carried out the burglary.
"You paid visits on two occasions to Blenheim Palace in the days leading up to the burglary," he said.
"That your role was to carry out a reconnaissance of the museum, to know exactly where the golden toilet was situated and to work out the quickest route in and out of the palace, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
"Although you have no witnesses to where you were on the night in question, I cannot be sure that you were part of the group of burglars who broke into the palace that night."
"Particularly unusual" case
Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell, Head of Special Operations at Thames Valley Police, said: “This was almost £5 million worth of gold that was stolen from a Palace in Oxfordshire and that is the real focus for the investigation team, to bring those responsible for that to justice through the court process.”
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, DS Ridell says he’s “really pleased with the sentences that have been handed down today”.
He also admits it’s an uncommon case: "Dealing with art crime when you work in Oxford, as I've done for quite a while, it isn't unusual, but the makeup of the gold in this case was particularly unusual.
“I think that's what's made it such a kind of media story or a media sensation.”
Background to the case:
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. 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.
Sheen then made plans to sell the gold which 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.
Sheen made trips to London and received the cash for the gold.
A spokesperson for Blenheim Palace said: “We are extremely pleased that, five years after the theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork ‘America’, three individuals have been brought to justice.
“We would like to thank Thames Valley Police for their tireless work on this case and the highly professional way they have conducted their investigation into the theft from Blenheim Palace.”