Four years after the golden toilet sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan was stolen, UK police hope to file final charges in the case.
In September 2019, a group of seven people broke into the Blenheim Palace before daybreak. They ripped the golden sculpture from the installation for Maurizio Cattelan and got away before anyone could notice. In doing so, they also caused extensive water damage to the hall which was just adjacent to the room where Winston Churchill, former UK PM, was born.
Immediately after the theft, which gathered international attention, one person was arrested. Over the course of the next four years, six more were arrested; however, no one has been charged yet. However, now the UK police have sent their case file to the Crown Prosecution Services, with the hopes that the charges might finally be filed for the theft.
Despite this, most investigators suspect that the sculpture itself might never be recovered. People like Matthew Berber (Police commissioner, Thomas Valley) and Charlie Hill (famous Scotland Yard detective) have said on record that in cases like these, where the stolen item involves precious metal or jewels, it is hard to recover them. In most cases, the thieves cut up or melt the item – both to hide it and to sell it inconspicuously.
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The 196-pound, 18-carat sculpture in the shape of a gold toilet, titled ‘America’, was unveiled by Maurizio Cattelan in 2016. It was first displayed at the Guggenheim Museum, where it remained on exhibition for a year and even accessible to the public. It was scheduled to be part of an exhibition but was stolen before it opened. At the time of the theft, it was estimated to be worth $6 million.
