Wellingborough man pleads not guilty to stealing £4.8m golden toilet and transferring criminal property

A Wellingborough man has pleaded not guilty to burgling a golden toilet valued at £4.8m stolen in an overnight heist at Blenheim Palace.

James Sheen, 39, from Wellingborough, and Michael Jones, 38, from Oxford, pleaded not guilty to burgling the 18-carat art installation in a raid in the early hours of September 14, 2019.

Sheen also denied a charge of transferring criminal property during the hearing at Oxford Crown Court today (Friday, January 19).

Bora Guccuk, 40, from west London, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property but was not asked to enter a plea during the hearing.

Sheen and 35-year-old Frederick Sines, aka Frederick Doe, from Ascot, Berkshire, also denied a charge of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The solid gold loo had only been on show as part of the exhibition for two days when it was stolen. Those who wanted to use it had a three-minute time limit to prevent queues from forming.

It was plumbed in when it was stolen which meant the palace suffered from flooding and damage.

The fully functioning toilet, titled ‘America’, was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and housed in the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born.

All four defendants were granted bail until their next court appearance.