3 Men, 5 Minutes, 1 Golden Toilet Gone Forever
Two men now face justice for one of the most outrageous art thefts in recent memory — the 2019 heist of a solid gold toilet from Winston Churchill's birthplace. Here's how this unusual heist went down.
Gold Rush Before Sunrise
On Sept. 13, 2019 — the night before the heist — Michael Jones, 39, scoped out the palace and reportedly used the golden throne himself. Prosecutors said the visit doubled as reconnaissance. By early morning, around 5 a.m., he returned with at least two other men. Armed with sledgehammers and crowbars, they smashed through a window, tore the toilet from its plumbing in under five minutes, and vanished before anyone could flush them out.
The burglary didn't just destroy the art installation — it caused massive flooding inside the 18th-century estate. But the real damage came after.
The Trail of Toilet Trouble
Despite the group's early success, their sloppiness unraveled everything. Investigators followed a trail of forensic evidence, CCTV footage, and phone data that led them straight to Jones and his partners.
On March 18, 2025, a British jury convicted Jones of burglary in Oxford Crown Court. He joined James Sheen, 40, who previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy, and transferring criminal property. Prosecutors identified Sheen as the ringleader, who later contacted Fred Doe, 36, to help sell the toilet's gold.
Text messages revealed the men used the word "car" to describe the stolen toilet. According to the Associated Press, Sheen messaged Doe, saying, "I'll link up with ya, I got something right up your path." Doe replied, "I can sell that car for you in two seconds ... so come and see me tomorrow."
The court convicted Doe of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. A fourth man, Bora Guccuk, 41, walked free after the jury acquitted him.
The Throne as Protest
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created the golden commode as a satire of wealth and privilege. He first exhibited "America" at New York's Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where visitors lined up to use the piece — literally. The toilet, made entirely of 18-karat gold, invited the public to reflect on excess in the most intimate way possible.
Cattelan, often labeled a provocateur and prankster, intended the work to challenge viewers' assumptions about art, value, and status. According to NPR, he has been described as a "provocateur, prankster, and tragic poet of our times."
The Guggenheim even offered to loan the toilet to President Donald Trump during his first term after he requested a Van Gogh for the White House — a surreal footnote in an already outrageous story.
Gone With the Gold
As of March 2025, Jones and Sheen currently await sentencing. Doe will learn his fate in May 2025. As for "America," authorities still haven't found the toilet, valued at nearly $6 million. Prosecutors remain convinced that the crew chopped it up and sold the pieces. They described the theft as "an audacious raid which had been carefully planned and executed," but added that "those responsible were not careful enough, leaving a trail of evidence," according to the AP.
What started as a toilet meant to mock excess ended in a real-life spectacle of greed, irony, and destruction. Not even Churchill's birthplace could keep this golden throne from going down the drain.
References: Second Man Found Guilty of Stealing Golden Toilet from Winston Churchill's Birthplace | Jury convicts thief who stole golden toilet from English palace | UK court finds men who stole $6 million gold toilet guilty
