Latest news with #ChâteauLaurier
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Churchill photo thief sentenced to two years in jail
A Canadian man has been sentenced to almost two years in prison for stealing a famous photograph of Sir Winston Churchill known as "The Roaring Lion". Jeffrey Wood had pleaded guilty to stealing the original print from Ottawa's Château Laurier hotel between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022. He also admitted committing forgery. The photo of Britain's war-time prime minister, taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1941, features on the UK £5 note. Ottawa Police said it was found last year in Genoa, Italy in the possession of a private buyer, who was unaware it was stolen. The image depicts a frowning Churchill, who was 67 at the time, shortly after he delivered a speech to the Canadian parliament. It wasn't until August 2022 that a hotel staff member realised the original photo had been replaced with a fake. According to Canadian media, Wood said he took the photo to find money for his brother, who was suffering from mental health problems. During sentencing, Justice Robert Wadden said: "It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame." "There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust," he added. "We're very happy to see that Canadian history is recognised," said Geneviève Dumas, the general manager of the Château Laurier hotel, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Wood was sentenced to "two years less a day", a distinction which means he will serve his sentence in a provincial institution instead of a federal prison. The lawyer representing Wood said the sentence was "unnecessarily harsh" given that he was a first-time offender. Churchill photo stolen in Canada discovered in Italy Iconic Churchill photo vanishes from Canada hotel
BBC News
27-05-2025
- BBC News
Churchill photo thief sentenced to two years in Canadian jail
A Canadian man has been sentenced to almost two years in prison for stealing a famous photograph of Winston Churchill known as "The Roaring Lion".Jeffrey Wood had pleaded guilty to stealing the original print from Ottawa's Château Laurier hotel between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022. He also admitted committing photo of Britain's war-time prime minister, taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1941, features on the UK £5 Police said it was found last year in Genoa, Italy in the possession of a private buyer, who was unaware it was stolen. The image depicts a frowning Churchill, who was 67 at the time, shortly after he delivered a speech to the Canadian parliament. It wasn't until August 2022 that a hotel staff member realised the original photo had been replaced with a to Canadian media, Wood said he took the photo to find money for his brother, who was suffering from mental health issues. During sentencing, Justice Robert Wadden said: "It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame.""There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust," he added."We're very happy to see that Canadian history is recognised," said Geneviève Dumas, the general manager of the Château Laurier hotel, according to the Canadian Broadcasting was sentenced to "two years less a day", a distinction which means he will serve his sentence in a provincial institution instead of a federal lawyer representing Wood said the sentence was "unnecessarily harsh" given that he was a first-time offender.
CBC
26-05-2025
- CBC
Man behind Churchill portrait heist going to jail
The man behind an international art heist that began in Ottawa is going to jail. Some time between Christmas and New Year's Eve 2022, Jeffrey Wood stole the world-famous portrait of a scowling, wartime Winston Churchill, titled The Roaring Lion, from Ottawa's Château Laurier hotel, replacing it with a fake. In March, Wood pleaded guilty to forgery, theft over $5,000 and trafficking property obtained by crime. Three additional charges were withdrawn. At the Ottawa Courthouse on Monday, Wood was sentenced to two years less a day in custody. The celebrated photographer Yousuf Karsh, a longtime resident of the Château Laurier, gave the portrait to the hotel in 1998. It has now been returned to the hotel following its disappearance, and the international hunt that followed. Before stealing the portrait, Wood had reached out to Sotheby's auction house about selling a print of The Roaring Lion from the Karsh estate. He also posted on social media about his plans to leave Canada, and days before the theft he placed a two-minute phone call to the hotel. The framed portrait had been affixed to a wall 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 saw something amiss with the replacement portrait. The theft made international headlines and launched an Ottawa police investigation spanning several countries and two continents. Investigators eventually determined that a man in Genoa, Italy, had purchased the portrait through a London auction house. The buyer had no idea he had acquired a cherished piece of Canadian history — let alone a stolen one — and when contacted by police, he quickly agreed to return it.
