One of the men on trial over the theft of a £4.75m gold toilet from Blenheim Palace has admitted he used it the day before it was stolen, a court has been told.
The fully functioning 18-carat toilet, created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been on display at the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born.
It was taken in an “audacious” five-minute raid in the early hours of 14 September 2019 by thieves who drove through locked gates and used sledgehammers to smash their way into the property.
CCTV of a man carrying a gold toilet seat, in the courtyard at Blenheim Palace. Pic: Thames Valley Police
CCTV shows men with a sledgehammer and crowbar in the courtyard at the front of Blenheim Palace. Pic: Thames Valley Police
Michael Jones, 39, who denies burglary, told Oxford Crown Court that the artwork was “splendid”.
Two visits to palace prior to raid
Jones visited the palace twice before the theft but denied that these were reconnaissance trips.
He first went with his then-partner during a classic car show and the pair bought annual passes.
Photographs taken included a poster advertising the upcoming gold toilet exhibition and the window that would later be smashed in the theft, the court heard.
But Jones said it was a shot of Union flags in the distance, and denied he was trying to help any burglars.
CCTV shows a man in the courtyard at the front of Blenheim Palace. Pic: Thames Valley Police
Jones ‘spent 90 minutes at palace’
The day before the toilet was stolen, Jones and the same woman spent around 90 minutes at the palace on what was a Friday, the trial heard.
Asked by prosecutors why he had taken a half-day off work rather than waiting until the weekend, he admitted it was unusual for him, but “was interested to go and see it”.
Questioned if he “took advantage of” the gold toilet’s “facilities”, the defendant said yes, and described it as “splendid”.
CCTV showing two vehicles driving through the main gate at Blenheim Palace. Pic: Thames Valley Police
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Who else is on trial?
Frederick Sines, 36, also known as Frederick Doe, of Winkfield, Windsor, Berkshire, and Bora Guccuk, 41, from west London, each deny one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
Jurors have been told that James Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, previously pleaded guilty to burglary.
Jones, from Oxford, said he did not know Guccuk or Doe before the case began but had worked as a roofer and builder for Sheen from around 2018 and was, in effect, his ‘right-hand man’.
The toilet artwork, entitled America, weighed approximately 98kg, was insured for $6m (£4.75m) and was made from gold worth about £2.8m.
It is believed to have been broken up after it was stolen.
The thieves drove through locked, wooden gates into the grounds of the palace before breaking in through a window.
The trial continues.
