Latest news with #GenevièveDumas
Ottawa Citizen
27-05-2025
- Ottawa Citizen
Thief of iconic Winston Churchill portrait sentenced to two years in jail
Article content Article content Sadly, the man who has worked at the hotel for more than 30 years was subjected to police questioning and a lie-detector test, which he passed. (Polygraphs are not legally allowed in Canadian courts as evidence in light of significant flaws, which have led to wrongful convictions.) Article content Hotel manager Geneviève Dumas said the case was awful for morale because some staff were wrongly treated as suspects. Article content The hotel did not store surveillance footage long enough to capture the crime, so there is no video account of the theft. Article content Police appealed for the public's help and asked to send them photographs of the Roaring Lion. Hotel visitors and guests sent in enough photographs to pinpoint the last time the original had been on the wall, and, days later, when the fake had replaced it. Article content A detective, using online searches, found that a 'Roaring Lion' print had been sold at auction months earlier, and asked for help from counterparts overseas to get the auction house records. Article content Article content It turned out that Wood had used his real name and address when he negotiated with Sotheby's auction house. Article content The Ottawa police investigation found Wood had contacted the auction house months before he stole the print, falsely claiming he acquired it from the Karsh estate. The print was sold to a buyer in Italy, where Ottawa detectives went to retrieve it. Article content According to the police investigation detailed in court, Wood left for Mexico on Jan. 5, 2022. His phone records showed he called a storage company on Dec. 27, 2021. Police later searched Wood's storage locker, where they found and seized another online print of the Roaring Lion. Article content Police also found a bar of Irish Spring soap and a toothbrush, which they swapped for DNA. That provided a match to another DNA sample lifted from the tape that Wood used to frame the fake portrait. Article content Article content The iconic print was valued and insured for $20,000, but it had been damaged during either the theft, storage or shipping. So it ended up being sold for 5,292 British pounds (almost $10,000 CDN). After fees, Wood received just $4,503.85, according to his bank records. Article content Article content In a touching impact statement read into court by the prosecutor, Estrellita Karsh detailed why the portrait and the hotel had been so special. Her late husband kept a studio on the sixth floor in the early 1970s, and later in the early 1980s they moved into a suite at the landmark hotel. Article content 'It was not just where we lived and worked. It was our home and the wonderful staff became our family,' she wrote. Article content When the couple moved out of the hotel, they gifted a collection of historic prints to express their gratitude for the years of hospitality. The only stipulation was that the photographs needed to be displayed in the hotel. Article content She said it was fitting the Churchill portrait was displayed in the reading lounge, where she spent good times with her husband and friends. She said the Churchill portrait was especially meaningful because it had become one of the 'most iconic images in photography.' Article content
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.
