Golden toilet heist ‘not a bog-standard burglary', says judge
The theft of a £5 million golden toilet was 'not a bog-standard burglary', a judge said.
Judge Ian Pringle was met with laughs in court as he summarised a four-week trial into the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace.
Maurizio Cattelan's artwork 'America' was stripped from the stately home by sledgehammer-wielding burglars in the early hours of Sept 14 2019.
Michael Jones, 39, charged with one count of burglary, previously told Oxford Crown Court he thought the 98kg toilet was 'splendid' when he used it the day before it was stolen in a five-minute raid.
As he summarised the case, Judge Pringle said: 'Despite all the evidence you may all agree about one thing – this was not a bog-standard burglary.
'It was an audacious heist on one of the most famous palaces in this country.'
Judge Pringle told the court two vehicles entered the Blenheim estate through a closed, but not locked, wooden gate.
They then drove over the fields to the palace, he said.
'The first vehicle was a light truck with some heavier front of the vehicle, and it managed to push open those gates, which weren't locked but just shut,' Judge Pringle said.
After parking in front of the palace, men 'in disguise' got out armed with sledgehammers and crowbars.
They smashed the window to the right of the palace front entrance and walked in.
He added: 'They proceeded, very swiftly, to unplug 'America' which we know was a gold toilet that was functioning. They left the pipes gushing out water.'
One of the vehicles was abandoned outside the entrance as the group fled the scene, and the toilet was never seen again.
Judge Pringle said the 'bold, brazen burglary' had 'great rewards for those who vanished'.
The artwork, believed to have been broken up after it was stolen, was insured for $6 million (£4.75 million) and its gold content was worth about £2.8 million.
The day before the lavatory was stolen, Mr Jones spent 90 minutes at the palace with a woman, the court heard.
Several photographs were taken of artworks, high-value vehicles, a poster advertising the lavatory exhibition and a view from the window that was later smashed in the theft, the judge was told.
Mr Jones, 39, from Oxford, denies burglary.
Frederick Doe, 36, and Bora Guccuk, 41, each deny one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
The jury members are expected to retire to consider their verdicts.
The trial continues.
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