4 charged in theft of 18-karat gold toilet

Four men have been charged in the theft of a solid gold toilet, which was valued at roughly $1.25 million when it was stolen, the Crown Prosecution Service said Monday. 

Officials list the current value of the toilet, which has not been found, at 4.8 million pounds, or roughly $5.93 million.

The toilet was taken from Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill's birthplace, in 2019, just days after its installation. It had previously been displayed at the Guggenheim museum in New York City as part of an "America" exhibit by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. After the theft, Cattelan said he hoped the robbery was "a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action," according to Blenheim Palace.

The toilet was fully functional. Before it was taken, the gold toilet had been connected to Blenheim Palace's plumbing system, police said at the time. The toilet's removal caused "significant damage and flooding" in the building.

James Sheen, 39, faces charges of burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to do the same, according to police.

Michael Jones, 38, faces a burglary charge. Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, are accused of conspiring to transfer criminal property. They are due to appear before Oxford Magistrates' Court on Nov. 28.