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# $6 Million Gold Toilet Stolen from Blenheim Palace—Thieves Convicted, But Where Is It?
- URL: https://www.artwalkway.com/gold-toilet-heist-verdict-maurizio-cattelan/
- Published: 2025-03-18T21:21:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-03-19T21:36:06.000Z
- Description: After a five-year investigation, two men have been found guilty of stealing Maurizio Cattelan’s solid gold toilet, "America." But the infamous artwork is still missing—likely melted down and lost forever.
- Author: ART News
- Tags: Latest Art News, Law & Politics

A **five-minute heist. A palace break-in. A $6 million golden toilet—vanished.** After **five years of mystery, arrests, and speculation**, two men have finally been found **guilty** of stealing **Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous 18-karat gold toilet, "America."**

But the toilet? **Still missing.**

This week, an Oxford Crown Court jury convicted **Michael Jones, 39, and Fred Doe, 36,** for their roles in the audacious 2019 burglary at **Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace.** A third man, **James Sheen, 40,** had already pleaded guilty, his DNA found on a **sledgehammer left at the scene.** Investigators discovered **gold fragments on his sweatpants**—evidence that the golden toilet was **likely melted down and sold off in pieces.**

The crime was **fast, reckless, and brutal.** At **5 a.m.**, the thieves smashed through **wooden gates**, broke into the palace, and **ripped the fully functional golden toilet from the plumbing**, flooding the room in the process. Security cameras captured **a large object being rolled out, a toilet seat carried separately**, and then—**the gang disappeared into the night.**

Now, years later, the **mastermind is in handcuffs**—but the crime’s final chapter remains unwritten. **"America" is gone. Not sold on the black market, not hidden in a collector’s vault—just gone.**

Cattelan, known for his **playful but cutting social commentary**, once called the golden toilet a **gift to the public, a critique of wealth, power, and privilege.** Now, its destruction has turned that satire into something darker—**a blunt reality check on the fragility of art itself.**

The thieves have been caught. But the masterpiece? **Erased, melted, lost forever. Was it worth it?**

**ART Walkway News**

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