The man accused of stealing the iconic portrait The Roaring Lion from Ottawa’s Château Laurier hotel and replacing it with a fake during the COVID-19 lockdown has pleaded guilty to three of six charges.
The historic photograph of Winston Churchill, taken by renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh, was gifted to the hotel in 1998. In early 2022, while Ottawa was under lockdown, the original was stolen and swapped with a counterfeit despite being secured with specialized bolts requiring unique tools and knowledge to remove.
The theft remained undetected until August of that year when a hotel staff member noticed discrepancies in the portrait. The case gained international attention, leading authorities on a global search. The stolen print was eventually traced to a buyer in Genoa, Italy, who unknowingly purchased it through a London auction house. Upon learning its true origins, the buyer promptly returned the piece.
In September, Ottawa police confirmed the recovery of the portrait and announced six charges against Jeffrey Wood, a 44-year-old from Powassan, Ontario. On Friday, Wood pleaded guilty to forgery, theft over $5,000, and trafficking property obtained by crime.
Source: Swifteradio.com
