In an unusual burglary, a one-of-a-kind 18-carat gold toilet was stolen from the Blenheim Palace in under five minutes.
According to CNN, as the trial for the unrecovered gold toilet robbery began, the prosecutor told jurors on Monday, February 24, 2025, that the $6 million pot was swiped from the sprawling English country mansion, Blenheim Palace, in the early hours of September 14, 2019.
Attorney Julian Christopher, in his opening statement in Oxford Crown Court, declared the robbery as an “audacious raid” and said that one of the three men on trial was involved in stealing the toilet while the other two helped in selling it.
It is believed that the toilet, which was not discovered until this date, was sold after being cut up into pieces.
The prosecutor revealed that one of the defendants, named Michael Jones, visited the palace where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born twice before the theft. Once before the display of the toilet and second after it was installed.
During both visits he took pictures of the bathroom, toilet door, lock, and a window that thieves smashed to enter into the palace.
Christopher argued, “There can be no doubt that he was carrying out reconnaissance for the burglary that was to take place that night. That would be enough to make him guilty of count one of burglary.”
Meanwhile, all of the defendants, including Jones, have pleaded not guilty.
Notably, the gold toilet was a satirical art piece, titled “America” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
It weighed 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth £4.8 million ($6 million) at the time when the value of the gold was £2.8 million ($3.5 million).
