The man accused of stealing one of the world’s most famous portraits from Ottawa’s Château Laurier hotel and switching it for a fake during a COVID-19 lockdown has pleaded guilty to three of the six charges against him.
The hotel was given the print of The Roaring Lion, a portrait of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, in 1998 by celebrated photographer and longtime hotel resident Yousuf Karsh.
Sometime around New Year’s Day 2022, while Ottawa was in a COVID-19 lockdown, the portrait was stolen and replaced with a framed fake — despite being affixed with special bolts that required specific knowledge and unique tools to unfasten.
The crime went unnoticed until the following August, when a hotel staff member noticed something amiss with the portrait.
The theft made international headlines and led Ottawa police investigators on a hunt spanning several countries and two continents. They finally determined the portrait had been purchased through a London auction house by a man in Genoa, Italy.
The buyer had no idea he’d acquired a cherished piece of Canadian history — let alone a stolen one — and when contacted by police, he quickly agreed to return it.
WATCH | Returned portrait unveiled again with extra security:
A portrait of Winston Churchill by acclaimed Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh — which was swiped, replaced with a copy, reported stolen six months later and recovered in Italy 18 months after that — has been returned to the wall of the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa.
When they revealed last September that the portrait had been found, Ottawa police also announced six charges against Jeffrey Wood.
The 44-year-old from Powassan, a municipality of about 3,300 people south of North Bay, pleaded guilty Friday to forgery, theft over $5,000 and trafficking property obtained by crime.
The proceedings are continuing Friday afternoon.
